Sonic Adventures: On the road
by Scotty CF
Summary: The Sonic crew are going to begin a journey together in an RV, and they have some amazing adventures. Read & review, please. Thank you!
1. Buckle up

**Sonic Adventures: "On the road."**

**Written by: C. E. Rodriguez**

**2002**

**= = = = = **

**Author's note: Hello and welcome, my adventurous readers to Sonic Adventures [on the road] The Sonic Crew _[from Sonic Adventure 2] are going to begin a journey together in an RV. Of course, this is based on some traveling adventures my family and I have experienced together and some is just from my mind. The characters in this series include: Sonic the Hedgehog __[of course!] Tails, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Tikal the echidna, Rouge the bat and Shadow too. Dr. Eggman [Robotnik] will also appear here and there as a character. But you never know what we will run into while out on the road with the Sonic crew, so let's get started. Before we begin, I must say that Sonic the Hedgehog and his crew belong to _****SEGA. I do not own them. I'm just writing this story for sharing and not to become rich and live in a castle. So, have mercy on this poor, humble writer and do not sue me! I mean no harm; I just wish to give my readers an adventure in these pages. Thanks and Enjoy! _[ZOOM!] _**

= = = = = 

**Chapter 1: Buckle up **

The golden sun was rising up into the sky, slowly and gently shining its light on a few dewdrops at a time and so another morning had begun, bringing a new day, fresh and bright. The summer morning was warm and quiet, except for the birds singing their songs in the treetops. It was 6:00am when an alarm clock suddenly rang, awaking Tails the fox from his sleep. He sat up and turned the alarm off, silencing it and then he rubbed his sleepy eyes to awake them. He opened them and then he saw Sonic the Hedgehog, still in bed, asleep. 

"Sonic?" Tails called, but there was no answer, only cute hedgehog snores were heard.

Then Tails climbed out of his bed, walking toward the hedgehog's bed and he gently shook him to try and awake the blue hedgehog. Sonic yawned and stretched and so Tails thought he was waking up, but then the hedgehog snuggled back under the covers, still asleep. 

"Sonic, wake up!" Tails called, shaking him a little harder this time. 

Finally, Sonic opened his green eyes, sat up and blinked at the fox. "Huh? What happened?" 

"It's morning and it's time to get up." Tails told him, pulling the covers away. 

"Hey! Stop!" Sonic said, reaching for his blanket. "Not my blanket! You'll wrinkle it!" 

"Fine." Tails said, letting go after a sigh. "But we have to get ready, remember?" 

"Sure I remember, little buddy. We're going on an adventure on the road." 

"Right, so let's go have breakfast, pack up and find the others. Okay?" 

"Okay." Sonic yawned, standing up and he scratched his blue quills. "Let's go, Tails."  

= = = = =

After a breakfast of pancakes and orange juice, Sonic and Tails entered the garage, opening the door to their old faithful RV. It was white with blue stripes running across it with the name: Cross Country on it. Sonic crossed his arms, standing proudly as he gazed at it. Tails turned and looked at the blue hedgehog that was not moving and hardly breathing. 

"Hey, Sonic, are you okay?" Tails asked, and he tugged at his arm. 

"Yeah…" Sonic sighed, half closing his eyes. "Just look at her." He pointed to the RV. "She's got air conditioning and power windows, a CD player..."  

"Cut it out already!" Tails said, pushing him toward the RV. "We've got to go and hurry!" 

"Do we have everything we need?" Sonic asked, stepping inside to see. 

"We packed everything. All we need is the crew and their supplies." Tails answered. 

"Oh no!" Sonic gasped, running out of the RV and toward the house. 

"What is it, Sonic? What's wrong?" Tails asked, after standing up from falling.

"How could I forget?" Sonic asked himself, searching in his closet. "It's got to be here!" 

"Need any help?" Tails asked, looking in through the bedroom window. 

"Nope. I found it!" Sonic said, holding something in his hand then he ran outside. 

"What did you forget?" Tails asked, curiously, after locking the window. 

"My CD." Sonic answered, simply and he showed it to Tails. 

"Sonic Adventure 2: Official Soundtrack." Tails read the title. 

"Right, you got it!" Sonic shouted, and then he jumped into the RV. "Come on, Tails!" 

"Oh, boy." Tails sighed, and then he hopped inside, closing the door after him. 

Sonic sat down at the driver's seat and Tails sat beside him. They made sure that they had everything and that the house was locked up, secure. They would be gone for weeks. 

"I found the map." Tails said, holding it in his hand. "That will sure come in handy."  

"It sure will, Tails. Now, are we ready to go and pick the others up?" Sonic asked. 

"Yep, let's go, Sonic!" Tails said, excited for the journey ahead of them. 

"Okay, our first stop is Knuckles!" Sonic said, and then he turned the key. And away they went. 

= = = = = 

"On the road again, I can't wait to be back on the road again!" Knuckles the Echidna hummed to himself as he packed the last few things he needed for the RV journey. "I better not forget my fishing rod because you never know when you'll need it." He said to himself.  

Just then, he heard the RV, honking and music playing. The red echidna turned around. 

"Sonic! Tails!" He called; waving his hand as the RV came to a stop. 

_"Trust me and we will escape from the city!" The song was playing inside. _

"Hop in, Knuckles!" Tails called him, opening the door. "We still have Shadow to find." 

"And then we'll have to pick up the girls, I guess." Knuckles said, stepping inside. 

"Yeah, they always stick together. They're waiting at the park." Tails told him. 

Knuckles nodded his head and then he turned to see Sonic, hitting the steering wheel like a drum, letting out a howl as the song began playing again. 

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not so safe with him driving?" Knuckles whispered. 

Tails simply shrugged his shoulders. "Buckle up." He said, smiling. 

= = = = =

Meanwhile, we find Shadow the Hedgehog, waiting… And waiting and waiting some more. 

"That faker better show up here soon, or the Ultimate Life Form will get very upset." He said and pointed to himself, so you will know whom he is talking about. "Yeah, that's ME." 

Then he saw the RV stop beside him and he heard the music playing inside. 

"City Escape…" Shadow said, when he recognized it. "That drives me crazy!" 

"Hey, Shadow!" Sonic called him through the window. "We're ready when you are!" 

"I have been ready before dawn." Shadow said with a slight grin seen on his face. 

Tails opened the door for him. "Come in and have a seat." 

"Very well." Shadow said, and then he carried his one, lone suitcase. 

"Is that all you're taking with you?" Knuckles asked, surprised at the small amount. 

"I always travel light." Shadow told him, entering the RV. 

"Why? Because you're black?" Sonic asked, and then Shadow growled. 

"NO! It's just simply the way I am!" He stormed out the words. 

"Okay, that's cool." Sonic said, and then again, he played his favorite song: _City Escape.  _

Shadow covered his ears and closed his eyes while shaking his head as they drove off. 

= = = = =

And then we find the girls, Amy Rose, Rouge and Tikal, waiting at the park for the RV. They did not wait long when they finally saw it coming for them. Rouge sat on her four suitcases, while Amy and Tikal carried two for each of them. 

Sonic stopped the RV and then he was surprised to feel Amy, hugging him tight, giggling. She reached him through the driver's window and Sonic could hardly breathe. 

"AMY, you're killing me!" Sonic yelled, and he struggled to save his life. 

"Oh, Sonic! You never told me I was that beautiful." The pink hedgehog smiled. 

"Let me go!!" Sonic yelled, and then he jumped to safety, away from her. 

"We should help the girls with their things." Tails said, with Sonic beside him. 

Sonic rubbed his neck with his hand. "With that strength, they should carry our things." 

"What?" Tails asked him, confused at his words. "What are you saying?" 

"Never mind!" Sonic said, throwing the thought away. "You guys go out and help them." 

"Whatever you say." Knuckles said, stepping outside and he came to Rouge. 

"You can't take all that with you." Knuckles explained, "You must leave something behind." 

"Oh, really?" Rouge asked, and then she turned to her four heavy suitcases. She made a quick search and then she found one nail file. She tossed that away, grinning at him. 

"This is going to be some vacation." Knuckles sighed, shaking his head, no.  

"It will be one we'll never forget." Tikal added, as Shadow carried her two suitcases for her. 

"Sonic!" Amy called him, stepping into the RV. "Aren't you going to carry my things?" 

"Uh… I can't because Tails already volunteered." Sonic said, and then he quickly took Tails by the arm, lifting his hand in the air. 

"I'll make you pay for that." Tails whispered, quietly. 

"Relax, little buddy." Sonic told him, "You'll do it now and I'll do it later. Deal?" 

"Deal." Tails agreed, and then he stepped outside. "At least I get it over with first." 

"Is everybody ready to go? You all buckled up back there?" Sonic asked them. 

"Yes, everything is set, everyone is ready and buckled." Shadow answered, and then he sat down up front where Sonic was waiting to drive off into a journey. 

"Okay, let's rock!" Sonic shouted, and then he began to drive, just as the song began to play. 

The crew disappeared just over the hill in the RV, on the road and together to see new things. 


	2. Surfing for an Emerald

**Chapter 2: Surfing for an Emerald  **

The RV of our great crew began to slow down when they finally reached a sandy beach. Ocean waves were heard outside, seagulls and the wind was blowing softly. They had been driving all that afternoon, so Sonic felt that it was the perfect place and time to stop.  

"Okay, guys, we made it to our first stop!" Sonic said, looking behind himself. 

"Where are we? It must be the center of the earth by now!" Knuckles said. 

"We're at the Miami Beach in Florida." Tails replied, looking at the map. 

"Great job, co-pilot!" Sonic said, grinning. "Now everyone can step out and stretch." 

"Sounds good." Shadow said, and then he smelled the air. "Hey, you smell something?"  

"What?" Sonic asked, and then he sniffed the air, catching the smell of smoke.

The team began to cough, as the smoke became thicker in the RV. Sonic stood up from the driver's seat and then Amy stepped out of the RV kitchen, holding a black pan. 

"I was just trying to make dinner." She told them with a shy smile.

"AMY!" Everyone else said, surprised and then they opened the doors and windows to let the smoke out and fresh air in where it all belongs.

After that, they stood outside, breathing for air while the RV let the smoke out. Sonic took another sip of his soda from a yellow straw, looking toward the beach to see the blue ocean. It reminded him of his color, blue and cool. Tails came to his side, standing and watching. 

"Sonic, we just barely got here and we already had something go wrong with this journey. You think that could mean trouble?" He asked. 

"No way." Sonic answered. "Everything will be smooth. It was just a burned dinner." 

"Sonic!" Amy called, running to him. "Will you come swimming with me?" She asked. 

"NO!" Sonic said, sweating. "I don't like ocean water and I don't like swimming!" 

Then Amy began to cry, covering her face with her hands. Tails grinned and looked at Sonic and then the blue hedgehog let out a heavy sigh. 

"Nice going, Sonic, now you made her cry." Tails said, tapping his foot. 

"Well, I didn't mean to." Sonic said, innocently. 

"Then hit the drink, Sonic. Be brave." Tails said, smiling again. 

"I'll make you eat Fruit Loops for a week." Sonic whispered to the fox, and then he turned to Amy who was still crying. "All right, Amy, cut it out and let's take a little dip, okay?"

"Okay!" Amy shouted, not crying now. "Thank you, Sonic! Thank you! I thank you!" 

"Yeah, I thank me too." Sonic said, after Amy had run to find her swimming suit. 

"Surf's up!" Knuckles said, running passed Sonic with a green surfboard. 

Rouge the bat followed him, holding a purple surfboard and they raced to the water. Shadow stood with his arms crossed, looking toward the blue ocean. Then he could not believe his eyes when he saw Dr. Eggman as a lifeguard, sitting high up on a chair. Shadow rubbed his eyes and looked again. He was still there. Shadow slapped his face with his hand but he still saw him there. 

"This is totally nuts." Shadow said, quietly while shaking his head, no. 

"Ah, yes! What a perfect day!" Eggman said to himself. "The ocean is blue, the seagulls are flying, the sun is shining and---what?" He gasped when he saw something green in the distance. He grabbed his spyglass to take a closer look. "Aha! I knew it! The bat-girl has found a Chaos Emerald, but no matter. It shall be all mine!" He laughed out loud. 

Then he heard a voice. "Hurry up, Sonic, we're almost there!" It was Amy. 

"Things can't get any better than this." Eggman chuckled. "I've got the Chaos Emerald and the hedgehog all in one beach. Now if that's not a good day, what is?" 

Sonic approached the water with caution, wearing red swimming shorts. He placed his foot in slightly and then he shivered. "It's cold!" He said, and quickly took a step back. 

Amy pulled him in by the arm. "Come along, Sonic! It'll be fun." She told him. 

The poor blue hero faced his fate in the water. "Mommy." He said in a tiny voice. 

Shadow watched from the sandy beach, standing alone. "Well, I'm enjoying the sun." 

"At least you can't get sunburned." Tikal said, rubbing sunscreen on her arms. 

Meanwhile, Knuckles was surfing his way toward the beach and then he saw Rouge appear next to him on the wave, surfing on her board and holding an Emerald in her hand. 

"Hey! That's MY Emerald!" Knuckles said, pointing at the jewel. 

"You want it? Come and get it!" Rouge said, grinning playfully.  

"Is that a challenge?" Knuckles asked, growling. 

"Always!" Rouge laughed and then she surfed away, escaping from the echidna. 

Knuckles was fast as he followed the bat on his surfboard, after the Emerald. He came to her side and then she escaped again, faster this time. "Come back here, you bat!" He called. 

"Ha! Ha! I have you now!" Eggman said, following Rouge in his speedboat and he was right behind her. "Now you'll witness my real power! Ready, careful, fire!" 

He fired a laser toward Rouge and then her surfboard shattered. She screamed as she fell toward the water below but then someone caught her to keep her from falling in danger. Rouge opened her eyes, holding the Emerald and then she saw Knuckles carrying her toward land.  

"Hey, Knuckles, look out!" Sonic warned him in time and Knuckles escaped another laser. 

"Come on, Amy. We gotta go and fast!" Sonic said, turning to the pink hedgehog. 

"Oh, joy! This is so much fun!" Amy giggled as Sonic ran, holding her hand. 

Shadow stood quietly on the sand with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his quills but then suddenly, he felt drops of water. He opened his eyes and then he gasped when he saw an ocean wave coming toward him and Tikal. Knuckles and Rouge were coming on the surfboard and they made a smooth, safe landing on dry ground while Shadow and Tikal were soak and wet with water dripping from them. Then Sonic and Amy rushed passed them like the wind with Eggman following them in his boat, laughing. 

"Run for the RV! Hurry!" Sonic told the others, and then he let Amy down and came to Tails who was enjoying himself on a chair, sun bathing. "You having a good time, pal?" Sonic asked him, after lifting the fox's sunglasses up. 

"Yes, very. Thanks." Tails said, grinning and then he closed his eyes again. 

"We gotta scat like a wild cat, Tails. Eggman is right behind us!" Sonic warned. 

"Eggman? Whoa!" Tails screamed, falling from his chair to the sand. "I'm gone!" 

Tails hurried and reached the RV, opening the door for Amy and Tikal, and then Knuckles stopped and let Rouge down. The bat stepped away from him, holding the Emerald tight. 

"Don't touch me!" Rouge said, looking away from him. "Now I stink like a wet echidna." 

"Hey, I just saved your life back there." Knuckles let her know that. 

"Saved my life? Ha! Don't think I owe you one. Take a hike." Rouge chuckled, and then she entered the RV and Tails followed. 

"Where's Shadow?" Sonic asked, standing beside Knuckles now. 

Knuckles shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head, no as an answer. 

Sonic turned around and then he saw Shadow, running down the hill, toward the RV but he was slower than Sonic remembered. He wondered what happened. Shadow reached the RV. 

"Shadow, what ever happened? You're all wet." Sonic said, looking at him. 

"My air shoes are soaked and they cannot run with water." Shadow answered, breathless. 

"Well, let's hurry and go before Eggman finds us." Sonic said, and then they closed the door. 

The RV began to move again, with everyone safe inside. Sonic sat down, ready for action. 

"My CD! Where is it?" The blue hedgehog panicked. 

"Just drive the RV without it, silly." Knuckles teased. 

Sonic turned to Shadow who was sitting in the front with him. "Okay, wise guy, hand it over!" 

"Oh, boy, you're fresh." Shadow said; grinning and then he held the CD in his hand. 

"Yeah, I'd hate to be rotten like you! Give me my CD!" Sonic demanded. 

"Say, please." Shadow said, moving his hand away from the hedgehog's reach. 

"Please!" Sonic let it out, after taking a deep breath. 

"Good boy." Shadow said, "Now play Live and Learn… NOT Escape from the city!" 

"NEVER!" Sonic said, "I'm the driver and it's Escape from the city!" 

"Live and Learn!" 

"Escape from the city!" 

"Live and Learn!" 

"Escape from the city!" 

"HEY!" Knuckles yelled, "Learn to control yourselves and let's escape from the Eggman so we'll live!" The echidna put the song titles together and the two hedgehogs noticed it.  

"You're right, Knuckles. Escape from the city it is!" Sonic said, snatching the CD away. 

"Fine. I always come prepared." Shadow said, placing his music headphones on his ears. 

"The fighting's over." Tikal sighed with relief. 

But then suddenly, something pushed the RV from behind. It was Dr. Eggman in a huge truck. Sonic locked and loaded his music CD, calmly while the girls were screaming. 

_"Can't stick around, have to keep moving on!" Sonic listened to the song, finally driving. _

And so Sonic and his crew safely escaped from the Eggman and they learned to get along. But there is no telling what awaits them on the road ahead. 


	3. Eat and run

**Chapter 3: Eat and run **

After their beach adventure together, Sonic and his team suddenly came to a swamp-like place, foggy and humid in the air. The RV was very low on fuel, so Sonic had to stop to fill up soon. Everyone was worn out anyway. It seemed like forever; the time they saw a road ahead of them and Sonic kept on driving and driving and driving and driving and driving some more, until…

"Sonic!" Knuckles called, "We're low on fuel, we gotta stop or we're sitting ducks!" 

"Chill, Knuckles." Sonic said, calmly. "There's a gas station right up ahead." 

"That's right, Sonic." Tails told him, holding the map. "We're really close now." 

"Yeah, I'm always right." Sonic said, grinning. 

Shadow made an angry face at him and then he turned the volume up for his music headphones. The RV stopped and Tails opened the door. The girls entered the gas station to freshen up while Sonic and Knuckles filled the RV with car food called fuel. It was very, very hungry. 

"Hey, this thing eats more than you, Sonic." Knuckles teased the hedgehog. 

"Stop that!" Sonic yelled, playfully laughing and he chased the echidna around the RV. 

Shadow watched them, arms crossed and he shook his head. "Pathetic creatures."  

"We're in Alabama, all right." Tails said, as he hit another fly. "There's millions!"  

Sonic continued running and chasing Knuckles around the RV until he lost sight of him. He stopped behind the RV, looking around but he did not see anything. He was gone. 

"Where did he go?" Sonic asked himself, looking and listening. 

"Surprise!" Knuckles laughed, jumping from the RV's roof. He had climbed on top of it and now he caught the hedgehog. "Give up?" Knuckles asked, tickling the blue hedgehog. 

"No! No! Never!" Sonic said, and then he laughed harder when Knuckles continued. Finally, Sonic gave up when he could no longer breathe and then Knuckles let him go. 

"Sonic, is the RV full yet?" Tails asked him. 

"Yeah, I think so." Sonic answered, still catching his breath. 

"That'll be a meal it'll never forget." Knuckles said, after Sonic paid the gas bill. 

"Next, we need to head out and find a place to eat and then settled down for the night." Sonic said, and then he turned toward the store. "Are the girls back yet?" He asked. 

"Nope." Knuckles shook his head, no. "They're still in there, as far as I know." 

"How far is that?" Sonic asked; teasing and then he ran before Knuckles could catch him. 

"You guys stop fighting for crying out loud. We have to be ready to go." Tails said. 

"At this rate, we'll reach the end of our journey in November of 3002." Shadow sighed. 

Tails froze with surprise at his words and then the girls returned, ready to go. 

"Oh, Sonic, do I look beautiful? Tell me the truth." Amy asked, doing a cute dance in a circle. 

"You look the same as always." Sonic replied, climbing into the RV. 

Amy smiled, fainting so then Rouge and Tikal caught her, carrying the girl hedgehog inside. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, never to understand girls and then he looked outside his window. He saw a truck parking beside the RV, and it said: _Eggman Trucking. _

"Oh no! Not again!" Sonic said, gripping the steering wheel. 

"It's him again? He just doesn't give up." Knuckles said, pointing at the truck. 

"What should we do, Sonic?" Tails asked. 

"We leave and avoid trouble but if he ever ruins our vacation again like at the beach, trouble will come to him from me!" Sonic pointed to himself, smiling proudly. 

"I'm so scared." Shadow said, not meaning it but in a funny way. 

"Don't worry. I'm the driver and I won't let anything happen to you guys, and that includes you, Shadow." Sonic told him, and before Shadow could respond the RV began to move.

Eggman watched the RV leave the area as he filled his truck with fuel. "Those fools are no match for me. I will hunt them down and find that Chaos Emerald, no matter where it will take me!" 

= = = = = 

Later, Sonic looked at his mirror again but he saw nothing following him. He would still be alert and watch out for any trouble. Now that it was passed suppertime already, the crew was ready to stop and eat in a small town. Sonic stopped the RV and then he turned to his friends.

"We made it into town, so where do you guys want to eat?" Sonic asked them. 

"We should use the resources we have here instead." Shadow said, not really answering. 

"But we're in town anyway, Shadow. We should save what we have for when we're not." Sonic said, and then he asked, "You guys have any ideas?" 

"No, I just have hunger." Knuckles answered, and everyone laughed with him. 

"Oh, Sonic! Look!" Amy said, pointing toward a small restraint. 

"Papa Luigi's." Sonic read the name of the place and then he grinned. "Sounds delicious." 

"Really? What does a Luigi taste like?" Tails asked, curiously. 

"No, little buddy. Luigi is a person's name but the place must serve good food." Sonic replied.  

"Well, Luigi sounds like a vegetable to me." Rouge said, sitting next to Tikal. 

"Can we go, Sonic, please?" Amy asked him. 

"Okay, we'll go. It's cheap and it's good eats. Team, let's go in and have some dinner." Sonic said, and then he opened his door, stepping outside. 

"Cheap eats?" Shadow whispered, "That could be dangerous." 

Knuckles opened the door to let the others out and Sonic led the way there. When the Sonic crew stepped into this Italian restraint, two certain friendly Italians greeted them, happily. 

"Hello, and welcome to Papa Luigi's Restraint." The Mario Brothers said together. 

Sonic looked at the shorter brother with the red hat. "Hey, you look familiar to me."  

"Everyone says that, my friend." Mario said, chuckling. "Now please, have a table, be our guest, have the best and you are always right. Right, Luigi?" He asked, turning to his brother. 

"Yes, very right, Mario." Luigi answered, grinning. "Welcome, welcome, welcome." 

"Yeah, thanks." Sonic said, and so then he paid the bill for himself and his friends. 

"Come sit with me, Sonic!" Amy said, taking him by the hand, leading him away. 

"Help." Sonic said, in his tiny voice again. 

"Such nice folks today." Mario said, smiling and then he continued cooking. 

Amy made Sonic sit down where spaghetti and grape juice was waiting for them on a table. Sonic felt a little dizzy at first, a strange feeling and then suddenly, his stomach growled and that made Amy giggle quietly. Sonic blushed and he let his grin go free. 

"You better eat something, hungry hedgehog." Amy said, pointing at his plate with her fork. 

"I think I will, thanks." Sonic pushed aside his shyness, his nervousness and just settled down to have a meal with his friend. He was suddenly enjoying it and having a good time. 

"This isn't too bad." Rouge said, eating her ravioli. "I wondered what it was though." 

"It's pasta, basically." Knuckles told her. He was having pizza, one of his favorites. 

Tails was having lasagna with Tikal at the other table while Shadow sat alone, by himself looking toward a window while eating soup and bread sticks. It was a great dinner for everyone and they all enjoyed it. Sonic was finishing his grape juice when he saw Eggman's truck again. 

"Amy, get down." Sonic whispered, placing his cup on the table. 

"What?" Amy asked, not hearing his words. 

"Get down." Sonic said, more firmly this time and he ducked down with her. They hid under the table but Amy did not mind or care. She actually liked it. 

"Oh, Sonic, how sweet of you…" Amy whispered, reaching to hug him. 

"Quit that, Amy. It's not what you think. I saw Eggman again." He whispered. 

"Did he follow us all the way here?" Amy asked, quietly. "How? Why?" 

"I don't know." Sonic answered, "But I've got the RV behind this building." 

"You won't let him take me, will you, Sonic?" Amy asked, a little scared at the moment. 

"Well, I'll have to think about that one…" Sonic whispered, almost to himself. 

"Sonic!" Amy said, upset now. 

"Hey, I was only fooling but you're no fool to fall for that." Sonic winked. 

"My true hero…" Amy smiled, and she finally hugged him. 

Sonic slipped out of her hug and then he looked up toward the window. The truck was gone and then he helped Amy stand up again. The two hedgehogs sat down at the table again. 

"Amy, could you eat some of these bread sticks?" Sonic asked her, and he offered her one. 

"Yes, thank you." Amy answered, and she gladly took it. 

Then Tails stood next to the blue hedgehog. "Sonic, it's getting dark outside. Should we leave soon and find a place to stop for the night?" Tails asked him. 

"Sure, if everyone is ready, we'll go and look for a spot." Sonic replied. 

"Okay, I'll let them know." Tails said, leaving. 

"I'm getting excited." Amy said, cheerfully smiling. 

"Why?" Sonic asked, suddenly curious. 

"It will be my very first night ever to sleep in an RV, far away from home." Amy said to him, "We could watch the stars from the roof, listen to the wind and--" 

"Uh, I think we better go now." Sonic said, standing up to avoid her talking. 

"Okay, Sonic. Thanks for taking us here." Amy said, and she stood up, following him. 

"No problem." Sonic said, "Now I guess we better find a place to stay for the night." 

"Everybody's ready to go, Sonic. We've got some sleepy travelers here." Tails reported. 

"Okay, good work, Tails. Let's get going and move on out." Sonic led the way. 

The Sonic crew stepped outside and Sonic carefully looked around before turning toward the RV. He saw no other cars in sight and it was quiet. The sun was going down, ending another day and you would expect twilight to be a peaceful part of the day but not this time. When Sonic turned to face the RV, he saw Dr. Eggman in front of it, blocking the team's way to safety. 

"If you value your life, miserable hedgehog, you will surrender your RV and bring me the Chaos Emerald. But if you refuse, I'll promise not to keep you alive for a petting zoo!" 

"Forget it, Eggman!" Sonic said, firmly and he stood with his friends behind him. "You're not getting the RV or the Emerald and I'm sure not going to any petting zoo!" 

"Very well. Then you're doom, pesky rodent!" Eggman moved to attack, while in his ship. 

"Run, girls! This could get ugly." Sonic said, stepping toward the enemy ship. 

"Is he out of his mind?" Knuckles asked and then he said, "No, he's right!" He agreed. 

"We will have ultimate victory!" Shadow said, and he ran with Sonic, toward the ship. 

"Jump, Shadow!" Sonic warned, pushing him away from a sharp laser fire. 

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I'll make you pay for this!" Eggman said, laughing. 

"No time for games!" Knuckles ran to attack, jumping toward the ship. "Take this!" Knuckles gave the ship a good hard punch and then he escaped in time to avoid an attack. 

Then Sonic jumped toward the ship with a great homing attack, damaging the ship while Shadow attacked it from behind. Eggman was surrounded and did not expect to see teamwork. The girls watched as the boys all worked together to defeat Eggman but then they realized they had to help them in the fight. Rouge stood up with an idea. 

"Follow me and we'll do the final touches." The bat said, and she found a fire hydrant. 

"That's a bright idea!" Amy agreed, and she held her hammer to knock it open. 

Tikal, the quiet girl was in deep thought. She rose to her feet after resting on one knee. "I must do something." She said to herself, reaching for a pie someone had thrown in a trashcan. She held it in her hands and when Eggman turned to fire a laser at Knuckles, she threw the pie. 

"I'm sorry." Tikal said before she threw it, and then the pie made a direct hit in his face. 

"Huh?" Knuckles was surprised to see Eggman with his face covered with pie cream. 

Then suddenly, water from the fire hydrant began to splash onto his ship, further damaging it. Shadow attacked the ship again, followed by Sonic with another powerful homing attack. 

"Oh no!" Eggman said, losing control of his ship. "My power is going down! It cannot be!" 

"Well, it is, bumble bee!" Sonic said, giving him yet another homing attack, finishing him. "Don't you ever mess with the Hedgehog!" The hero said, pointing to himself, standing ready. 

"It's not over yet, Sonic!" Eggman laughed. "If I can't find what I want, I'll just destroy this RV, your home on wheels will then be history!" He aimed his laser weapon toward the RV. 

"Chaos Control!" Shadow shouted, and then the Eggman ship froze, unable to move or fire. 

"This is not my day! Woe is me!" Eggman cried, facing his failure and loss.  

"Let's jet, team! I don't like the company here!" Sonic said, leaving and satisfied. 

His friends followed him to the RV and they drove passed Eggman who helplessly watched them get away, cheering for their victory. The RV disappeared into the darkness, safely escaping. 


	4. Star gazing

**Chapter 4: Star gazing **

The Sonic crew indeed safely escaped danger in the town and now, they had no idea where they were. There were no lights, no signs, no way of knowing. Sonic remained calm, driving on the road ahead of him and seeking a place to stop so he and his friends could get some sleep. His team had complete faith in him, assured that they will make it through… at least they hoped. 

"It's the end of the world." Knuckles sighed, very tired on the sofa of the RV. 

"No, not yet." Tails said, trying to unfold the map. "I think we're somewhere in Mississippi."  

"Miss who?" Shadow asked, sleepily opening an eye. 

"Mississippi." Tails repeated. "I see it here on the map, but it's so dark outside." 

"I'm not scared of the dark." Sonic said, bravely. "I can drive anything, anywhere." 

"How about if you would drive very, very, very SLOW?" Shadow asked him, grinning. 

"Now that's scary." Sonic whispered and then he gulped, shivering. 

"I don't see why we could just stop and ask for directions." Rouge said, sitting down. 

"Stop and ask what? The chicken crossing the road?" Knuckles asked, closing his eyes.

"YIKES!" Sonic screamed and he suddenly slammed on the breaks, stopping. 

Shadow remained calm in the front seat, buckled up. "You see, kids? Always buckle." 

"Sonic, what happened?" Tails asked, unbuckling and approached the hedgehog. 

"There's something out in the middle of the road. It could be a trap." Sonic answered. 

"Let's go see!" Tails said, taking a flashlight and he jumped outside with Sonic. 

"It could be the chicken trying to cross the road." Knuckles said, sleepily. 

"That just means you're hungry again." Rouge teased, smiling. 

Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails reached the strange object on the street and Tails shined his flashlight toward it. They were surprised to see that it was a turtle, slowly crossing the road.  

"To get to the other side." Sonic finished, chuckling. 

"Why is that so funny?" Tails asked, turning to the blue hedgehog. 

"It just is, Tails. I don't always need a reason." Sonic answered, simply. Then he looked around at the area. There was no sound anywhere to be heard and it was as black as midnight. He looked up and saw the clear sky covered with bright stars, such a wonderful sight to see. "Wow." 

"Sonic, I gave the turtle a lift and placed him on the other side. But now what?" Tails asked. 

"Tails, I think we should just stop right here." Sonic replied, returning to the RV. 

"What? Here? Why?" Tails asked, following him to their home on wheels. 

"I like this spot and it's nice, quiet and the stars are a great view." Sonic said, stepping inside. He told his team to settle down and sleep for the night. They did so. 

Tails finished brushing his teeth and then he looked for Sonic to say goodnight but he was nowhere in the RV. He stepped outside, into the dark and quiet night, looking for him. When he searched all around the RV and the inside but did not find him, he flew up to the top of the RV. There on the roof was the blue hero, resting on his back, gazing up at the stars, relaxing. Sonic turned his head slightly when he saw Tails land quietly on the RV roof. 

"Hey, Tails." He greeted him, quietly. His green eyes were like a shining emerald in the dark. 

"Hi, Sonic. Do you want to be alone?" Tails asked him. 

"No, not really. You wanna join me?" Sonic asked, still resting on his back. 

"I sure do. Thanks, Sonic." Tails said, sitting down to rest. His eyes were amazed at the sight above with all those stars. He lay down on his back to see them better, like a movie. 

Then they heard someone climbing up to them and it was Knuckles. "There you are. I couldn't find you anywhere. Is something wrong?" The echidna asked. 

"No, we're just kicking back and watching the stars." Sonic replied. 

"Hey, can I squeeze in?" Knuckles asked, interested in the star show. 

"Sure, come on up." Sonic answered, moving slightly for Knuckles to have a place. 

Just then, they heard a voice down below. "Sonic! Oh, Sonic, where are you?" Amy called. 

Sonic closed his eyes, not wanting to answer but then Knuckles answered for him. "He's up here, Amy! Come and get him!" Knuckles said, and then he chuckled to himself. 

Sonic made an angry face and then he pinched the echidna. "Ouch!" Knuckles yelped. 

Then Amy and the other two girls climbed up to the roof, happy to find them. Sonic sighed, having no idea that he would start a big thing about a little star watching but he moved some room anyway, letting the others join them to watch the night sky. There was still some room after the girls found a place and then at last, Shadow reached the RV rooftop. He held onto the edge, surprised in his eyes to see them all there. He wondered where everyone had gone. 

"Hey, Shadow, why don't you come watch the stars with us?" Amy asked him, excited. 

"Uh… No, thanks. Goodnight." Shadow moved to climb down but then everyone called him. 

"Shadow!" They all called him at once with one voice. 

The black hedgehog came back up, letting out a sigh. "What do you want?" He asked. 

"Come watch the stars with us." Amy answered, and everyone else nodded, yes. 

"Why?" Shadow asked, still not moving to join them. 

"It's beautiful and it's not the same without you." Tikal replied, truthfully. 

"Yeah, come up, Shadow. There is a place by me." Sonic offered it to him. 

Shadow opened his mouth to say no again but everyone looked toward him, waiting. He closed his mouth and fought against a smile and then he finally climbed up, sitting down. "All right."

Then everyone returned to the sky watching and Shadow felt tired as he carefully moved to rest on his back. He was slow but he finally settled down and looked up at the sky. 

"Hey, look! A falling star! See it?" Tails asked, pointing up toward it. 

"Yeah, that's amazing! Look at that!" Amy said, not even blinking her eyes. 

"That's wonderful." Tikal whispered, looking up. 

"It reminds me of jewels." Rouge said, smiling to herself. 

"Like my Emerald." Knuckles said to himself, quietly. 

"It makes me think of a city with bright lights." Sonic said, sharing his thoughts. Then he turned slightly to Shadow who was next to him. "What are you thinking of, Shadow?" He asked. 

Shadow did not hear the question. He was lost in thought, lost in a memory. It seemed like it was so long ago, so long ago when he fought and won a battle to save the people as he promised her, he promised Maria. Just the thought of her name, just the memory of the loss brought back pain but he wanted to remember the good times. That was a hard thing to do. Shadow closed his eyes tightly and then he sat up, turning his face away from the others but almost forgetting they were even there. He felt a burning in his eyes; it was wet. It was painful in his heart. Was he crying? He did not know and he did not understand. But he only knew that it hurt. 

"Shadow?" Sonic asked, sitting up beside him, concerned. "What's wrong?" He asked. 

No answer could be made but Sonic looked down and he saw Shadow close his fist tight, fighting something. "Shadow, tell me what's wrong." Sonic said, gentle in his voice. 

The others quietly sat up, noticing the troubled friend, the black hedgehog.  

"I--I don't know anymore." Shadow answered, finally after a long pause. He slightly opened his eyes and then Sonic saw a tear appear on his cheek, slowly falling. 

Sonic carefully laid a hand on Shadow's shoulder, wishing to comfort. He wanted to help.

Shadow closed his eyes again when Sonic touched him but he did not move. "It's okay, Shadow. Those days are over and gone. You have a new life now with friends. Us, Shadow." Sonic kept his voice as a soft whisper, only enough for Shadow to hear him. 

After another long moment of silence, Shadow opened his eyes and faced the blue hedgehog, looking right into the green eyes. "Yeah, you're right. But it still hurts." He whispered. 

"I know, but we're here to help in anyway we can. You can tell us anything." Sonic said. 

"Thanks." Shadow did not know what else to say, and he smiled slightly. 

"I think…" Sonic began to speak, stopping for a short moment and then he finished. "I think we should all go in and have a cup of hot chocolate."  

"Sounds good to me." Tails agreed first, of course. 

"I like that idea." Amy said, smiling now. 

"I just love chocolate." Rouge said, "But I must be careful not to lose my beauty." 

"Let's do it." Tikal agreed with Sonic and the others. 

"Okay, I'm in for that." Knuckles said, agreeing also. 

Then Sonic turned back to Shadow. "Would you like that?" Sonic asked him. 

Shadow released a grin, happy again. "Sure, but it better be with two marshmallows." 

Everyone laughed at his words and then Sonic added, "You'll have three of them." 

And so it was that Sonic and his friends enjoyed a time of stargazing and then they all had a cup of hot chocolate together in the RV, talking and making plans for the journey ahead of them. Shadow did feel better after that and soon with everyone in their sleeping places, the crew fell asleep and they were together even in their dreams. Tomorrow would bring another day. 


	5. Triple trouble

**Chapter 5: Triple trouble **

The morning came slowly and the sun was sending its golden light to awake the sleeping team of Sonic the Hedgehog. The blue hero was the first to awake from a restful sleep and he quietly made his way toward the driver seat. He gripped the steering wheel, sitting down on the chair. He let out a sleepy yawn before turning the key, starting the RV. It began to move and he drove on quietly and somehow, he did not wake anyone up from sleep. It was still the early morning and he saw the sun rising, giving light. He wanted to make it into town so his friends could have some breakfast there and then they would be on their way in the journey. 

"You're up early." A voice whispered, and Sonic turned to see that it was Shadow. The black hedgehog sat down in the front seat beside the driver, buckling. 

"Yeah, so are you." Sonic whispered, and then he turned his eyes back on the road. 

"Are we close to a town yet?" Shadow asked him, quietly. 

"Yes, very close now. We should be there soon." Sonic replied. 

Then Shadow sat quietly, watching the road in front of him. He soon saw a town ahead of them and then the others began to wake up. They were surprised to feel the RV moving. Knuckles rubbed his sleepy eyes and then he looked toward the front. He saw Sonic and Shadow there and then he sat up on the sofa while Tails sat up, blinking his eyes awake. 

"Hey, we're moving." The fox said, sleepily. "Sonic, where are we now?" He asked. 

"We're almost in Louisiana." Sonic answered, driving into a town. 

Tails looked outside the window. He saw green trees and the wind was fresh in the morning. The sky was gray and maybe that was a sign of rain. He heard the girls giggling about something in the back room behind a closed door. They entered Louisiana and the morning came with it. The sun seemed to make the gray clouds melt away. It became nice, bright and clear. 

"We'll stop and have breakfast and then we'll walk through a park for the afternoon, just to stop and rest a while." Sonic explained, "I'll fill up the RV and then we'll head out again." 

And so, leaving the dust behind them, Sonic and his team entered a city and another adventure. 

= = = = = 

Later that day when the afternoon arrived, Sonic and his friends found a nice, quiet park. They heard the birds singing and the butterflies flew over them with flowers covering the ground. It was a wonderful place but it was also a hot afternoon, and that calls for one thing… 

"Sonic, would it be okay if everyone had an ice cream cone?" Tails asked him. 

"Wow, that sounds cool. Let's do that. You guys have any favorites?" Sonic asked. 

"Strawberry! Anything pink!" Amy answered, leaping into the air with excitement. 

"Right." Sonic said, turning to the others. "Tails, how about you?" He asked him. 

"I'll take chocolate fudge, please." Tails replied, and Sonic licked his lips. 

"Good choice. Tikal and Rouge, what about you girls?" He asked them. 

"Orange sherbet would be delightful. Thank you." Tikal told him. 

"Me? Well, I prefer chocolate chip, of course." Rouge said, smiling. 

"Okay, got it. Knuckles?" Sonic asked him, "What would you like?" 

"Vanilla." Knuckles said, and then Sonic looked surprised. 

"Vanilla?" Sonic asked, to be sure. "Just plain white vanilla?" 

"Yeah, vanilla. That's what I said and that's what I like." Knuckles told him.  

"All right, fine. And you, Shadow?" Sonic asked, turning to the black hedgehog. 

"Mint chocolate chip." Shadow answered, and he could not hold back his grin. 

Sonic grinned back. "Cool. I'm going for chocolate almond." He said, and they left together. 

= = = = = 

While our courageous team enjoyed cold ice cream together, they did not know that they were being watched. The spying eyes of Dr. Eggman found them at last, after a search. He took another lick from his ice cream spoon. He had a gallon bucket of vanilla ice cream for himself. 

"Coming to a swamp like Louisiana was not my idea of a vacation, but if that's where the Emerald is located, what choice do I have? I must proceed and find it." Eggman said. 

Standing beside his ship was Metal Sonic and Chaos, and so Eggman told them his plan, which he thought was totally brilliant [like all the others that made him lose.]

"Okay, you two, we found the hedgehog and he's inside the park. I want you both to move in and attack, bring me the Emerald and destroy that pest of a hedgehog." He laughed. 

"Whatever you say, boss." Metal Sonic said, "By your command, it shall be done." 

"Destroy all enemies." Chaos added, hissing with delight. 

"That's good, that's very good indeed." Eggman said, happy to see hope for his victory. "And now with our little surprise ready for him, Sonic will find himself in a very tight spot, perhaps in jaws." He grinned at the large box, which said: _Caution: Dangerous Alligator. _

"Oh, I'm so bad, so evil, so clever, I scare even myself." The villain said to himself. 

Metal Sonic and Chaos looked at each other, shrugging shoulders. 

"What are you two fools waiting for? Get going and get that hedgehog, now!" Eggman ordered. 

= = = = = 

Sonic finished the last bite of his ice cream cone and it was a nice relief to have something cold during a hot afternoon. He sat in a park with his friends as they rested under the shade of green trees, listening to the wind blow through the branches above them. Tails was sitting on a large rock, licking the last of his ice cream when he felt hot breath breathe on his neck. He froze with fear, not daring to move and Amy looked toward him. She screamed when she saw an alligator behind Tails. At the sound of Amy's scream, the team all jumped to their feet, alert and watchful, but Shadow hurried and finished his last bite before standing ready to fight. 

"What's going on?" Sonic asked, looking around the area. 

Just then, they saw Tails and Amy running toward them, screaming. "Alligator!" 

"Huh? Where?" Shadow asked, and then he saw it appear from behind a bush. 

Its mouth was terrible, its jaws were huge, able to damage and even kill easily. One can only think of the bad breath it may have, but the brave Sonic stepped forward, furious. 

"No scaly piece of luggage is going to harm my friends!" He said, and ran toward it.

"HELP!" Amy screamed, hanging onto Tails who was holding a tree branch. 

The alligator was right below them, trying to reach for Amy's leg and have a bite. It nearly reached her but then Sonic kicked its face, knocking it down to the ground. Shadow and Knuckles came running behind the blue hedgehog, on their way to help him. 

"Tails, are you and Amy okay up there?" Sonic asked, looking up at the tree. 

"We're alive and grateful for it!" Tails answered, not daring to let go. 

"Sonic, look out!" Knuckles warned, but it was too late. 

The alligator's strong tail swung and hit Sonic on the head, throwing him down to the ground. He did not move after he had fallen beside the tree. Shadow ran faster, reaching the attacker. 

"I promise you revenge!" Shadow said, growling as he jumped into a homing attack. 

"Here's a nice fruit punch!" Knuckles said, giving the killer alligator a punch with his fist. 

The alligator let out a growl of rage, attacking them both while Sonic lay still, not moving. Shadow avoided the huge jaws, which snapped at him, trying to take his arm. While all this was happening, Metal Sonic and Chaos watched and laughed quietly, hidden from sight. Tails heard a snap above him and it was the tree branch. It was breaking a little at a time. It would not last long. 

"Sonic!" Amy called, crying when she saw that he was still not moving. 

"Here I come, you creep!" Shadow said, attacking the alligator again. 

"Shadow, watch out for its mouth! It's coming right for you!" Knuckles warned. 

Shadow jumped out of reach and then the alligator turned to Knuckles with its mouth still open wide, sharp teeth clearly seen and Knuckles felt its hot breath. The red echidna was forced to scream when the dangerous mouth came in front of his face and he could even smell its breath now and see its tongue. Shadow moved quickly and pulled Knuckles by the arms. 

"Get outta there!" Shadow yelled, pulling him away to safety before the jaws closed. 

"As always, I have to be beauty and brains." Rouge said, stepping forward, holding a small bottle of her perfume. She sprayed it on the alligator's nose and the scent made it sneeze.  

The alligator turned away, sneezing and ran toward the water, disappearing from sight. Shadow and Knuckles sighed with relief, and then suddenly, the tree branch broke. Tails and Amy fell to the ground, unharmed. The team gathered around Sonic and his head was wounded. 

"Sonic! Sonic, can you hear me?" Shadow asked, gripping his hand tightly. 

Sonic could not answer but he was breathing. He could hear Shadow's voice but it seemed to be so far away. His head hurt and he found it hard to move or open his eyes. Shadow continued to hold his hand and then suddenly, Metal Sonic and Chaos appeared, standing to attack. 

"Give up the Emerald and the hedgehog and no one will get hurt!" Metal Sonic said. 

"Oh, yeah?" Knuckles asked, standing up, angry. "You're the ones who did this?" 

"Yeah!" Metal Sonic and Chaos answered, nodding their heads, yes. 

"Then you're going to pay!" Knuckles growled, moving to attack them. 

"Leave Chaos to me!" Shadow said; running toward the enemy while Knuckles faced Metal Sonic. The black hedgehog fought Chaos with all his strength, careful and watchful. 

Knuckles tried to punch Metal Sonic but the robot was too fast as it moved from left to right, avoiding each hit. Then Metal took the echidna's hands and he began to push him down to the ground. Knuckles closed his eyes tight, sweating and fighting to keep standing but he soon fell to his knees, unable to fight against the robot for long. 

"You bully, let him go!" Amy said, and then she hit Metal hard on the head with her hammer. 

Metal Sonic was damaged in the head and he let go of Knuckles, spinning in a circle, slowly. Knuckles stood up beside Amy and they watched the robot leave with a damaged head. Meanwhile, Shadow was pushed against a rock with the deadly claws of Chaos at his throat. Shadow struggled to breathe but that was difficult. He gasped for air once more before closing his eyes. He stopped fighting but then, someone suddenly kick Chaos down, freeing Shadow. 

"Shadow, stand up, quickly!" Sonic called, standing in front of the fallen Chaos. 

"Here I am, Sonic! But are you all right?" Shadow asked, now standing next to him. 

"Never mind that now! Let's finish him!" Sonic said, giving Shadow's hand a grip. 

"Let's do it!" Shadow said, and they both attacked Chaos, defeated him together. 

Chaos vanished and Metal Sonic was nowhere to be seen. Sonic turned to his friends, still hurting in his head and he made sure that no one was wounded or lost. He was glad they were safe but he felt they should return to the RV. If Metal Sonic and Chaos were near, Eggman was somewhere in the area and that could only mean danger. Now that was triple trouble. After cheering for their victory, the team returned to the RV with Sonic in the lead. When they returned, it was safe and quiet but Sonic felt more pain in his head. He laid his hand on it, closing his eyes while sitting in the driver seat and he let out a weak sigh. 

Shadow saw it and then he spoke. "Sonic, you're hurt and you need to rest." 

"I don't have time to rest." Sonic moaned, keeping his green eyes closed. 

"Make the time and you rest now." Shadow took him by the arm, gently leading him to a bed. 

Sonic followed and Amy gave him a cup of cold water to drink. Sonic sat down on the bed and Amy lifted the cup to his mouth, giving him a drink. He opened his mouth, accepting it. He felt much better after that. He had friends that risked their lives for him. He never quite knew friends could be so strong. The feeling was new to him. He liked it. But with the enemies now on their trail, Sonic and his crew now had to be careful, listen and watch. 


	6. Hedgehog Lake

**Chapter 6: Hedgehog Lake **

There was a sound heard outside when Sonic the Hedgehog slightly opened his emerald green eyes. He must have fallen asleep on the bed and he wondered for how long. He turned toward the window, which was right beside the bed and he moved to sit up. The green blanket covered him and he felt his shoes missing but he still had his white socks on. He quietly pulled the window curtain away and then he was surprised to see that it was raining outside. That was the sound he was hearing and the thunder was his wake up call. He was not sure if he felt sadness or gladness when he saw the rain. Perhaps it was sadness that he could not enjoy the outdoors with his friends and perhaps gladness that the rain may be protection and a helpful sign. 

"Good morning, Sonic." Amy greeted him, cheerfully, entering the room. 

"Amy?" Sonic asked after clearing his throat. "How long did I sleep?"

"All night, and then it started to rain this morning." She answered. 

"What? All night?" Sonic asked himself, quietly. He felt the head pain gone now. 

"Are you doing okay?" Amy asked him. 

"Yeah, I'm okay as far as okay goes. But where are we?" Sonic asked. 

"Shadow is driving us toward Texas and I think we're nearly there." Amy replied, and then she asked him, "Are you hungry? Can I bring you any breakfast?" 

"Yeah, that would be great. I gotta get up now and help Shadow up front." 

"Okay, your shoes are right here." Amy gave them to him. He took them. 

"Thanks." Sonic said, quietly and then he slipped them on. "Sorry I used your bed." 

"That's fine, I'm just glad to see you well again." Amy said, and she smiled. 

Sonic hid his smile, stood up and then left the room. He came to the front where Shadow was driving through the rain. The blue hedgehog tapped him on the shoulder with his finger. 

"Hey, it's you." Shadow said, surprised and glad to see Sonic standing strong again. 

"Hey, it's me." Sonic said to him, "I've been told you're taking us to Texas." 

"Yeah, I'm trying to get us out of this rain." Shadow told him. 

"Let me have the wheel. You have a rest." Sonic said, and then Shadow stopped the RV. 

"You sure? The rain is slippery on the road." Shadow warned. 

"I'm sure, Shadow. I'll get us out in no time. We just need to go west." Sonic took the steering wheel and the RV moved at his command. 

"Sonic, your toast is ready for you." Amy said, standing behind the driver's seat. 

"I can't stop and eat now." Sonic said, keeping his eyes on the wet road. 

Then Knuckles let his idea be known. "Hey, Amy, you can hand--feed him." 

"What?" Sonic asked, surprised and unsure. 

"Good idea!" Amy said, turning back to the kitchen. In a few moments, she came back with a plate of four pieces of toast. She sat between Sonic and Shadow, holding it. "Okay, Sonic, open up." Amy lifted the first piece to Sonic, enough for him to reach it.

Sonic let out a sigh but hunger made him take a bite of the toast that Amy held in her hand. He chewed while driving and he truly enjoyed the first bite. He turned back for another. 

"Careful, Sonic, don't bite my hand off!" Amy laughed and the team with her. 

Sonic had his mouth full but the smile was seen on his face. He did so enjoy his breakfast. 

= = = = = 

Later, it was the afternoon when the rain had finally stopped falling and the Sonic crew found themselves in a very busy city with tall buildings all around, like a forest of cement trees. It was an amazing sight to see. Tails opened the map and found the name of the city. 

"Sonic, we have just entered Houston." Tails told him, pointing to it. 

"Is that a problem?" Sonic asked, driving along the road safely. 

"No, I hope not." Tails replied, and then he retuned to the map. 

The RV made another wide turn and Knuckles could not take it. They have been driving for hours now and they entered the city where sharp turns had to be made. The poor echidna began to feel carsick. Rouge noticed his trouble and she sat beside him, wondering what was wrong. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Rouge asked him, holding her lunch. 

Knuckles shook his head, no. "Not quite." He answered, quietly. 

"That's a shame." The bat said, taking a bite of her sandwich. "I was wondering if you would like to share my peanut butter and jelly sandwich." 

"Oh, gross!" Knuckles said, and he ran for the nearest window. 

"Uh-oh." Shadow said, turning to the driver. "Sonic, I think Knuckles is carsick." 

"Why? Is it something he ate?" Sonic asked. 

"He hasn't eaten anything today." Amy told him, "He said he woke up this way." 

"We must help him." Tikal said, and of course, the team agreed. 

"Okay, I think I know a place to go where we can get help." Sonic said, driving onward. 

= = = = = 

It was later that day when the team arrived in a much smaller place in Texas, which is my home. The RV stopped near my mailbox and Sonic the Hedgehog himself came running to my front door. I heard a knock and my brother called me to answer it. I left my computer board and walked toward the door. I had no idea who would ever come all the way out here but when I opened the door, I was so amazed. I could not believe my eyes because there in front of me stood Sonic the Hedgehog. His green eyes looked up to meet mine and I thought I was dreaming. 

"Hey, Elk, you mind if I could have your carsickness medicine? My friend Knuckles is a little sick and he needs it." He told me. 

I opened my mouth to speak but at first I had no voice. "Wow! It's you!" I shouted. "You're Sonic the Hedgehog! I can't believe you're real! Sonic, you're really, truly real! Sonic!" 

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out." Sonic grinned at me. 

"Way past cool! Wait here and I'll get it for you." I said and I ran to get it. I was back in less than a minute and he was still there. "Here you go, and tell Knuckles to take it easy." 

"I will and thanks, Elk." Sonic said, using my nickname. How did he know it? He took the small box from my hand. His hand was soft and warm, and yet it was strong. 

"You're very welcome, Sonic." I managed to speak again. "You all take care." 

"Yeah, you too. I gotta run and get back on the road again." Sonic said, and then he lifted his hand up to his forehead, saluting me and I did the same. He winked his eye at me. 

"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog." I said, and then as fast as a blink, he was gone. 

Astonished and weak in my legs, I turned and closed the door. I heard an RV and I quickly looked outside the window but I saw nothing there. Maybe I was only dreaming. It cannot be, can it? I turned from the window and said to my brothers and sisters, "Guys, don't think I'm crazy, but I just saw Sonic the Hedgehog!" 

= = = = = 

Returning to our adventure story, we find Dr. Eggman disappointed in his last attempt to capture Sonic and steal the Emerald. He was so close to victory, so close to finishing his brilliant plan but in the end, something almost always seems to go wrong. He had to try harder.

"Yes, I must try harder and reach my goal because I am a scientific genius, you know." He grinned to himself, closing his umbrella now that it had stopped raining in east Texas. "That was too close. I hate to get wet. But anyway, we're ready to attack and win!" 

He turned to face Metal Sonic and Chaos and he was very surprised to see them both wearing Texas cowboy hats. He slapped his forehead with his hand, shaking his head, no. 

"Why on earth are you wearing those silly hats?" He asked them. 

"It makes us look Texan." Metal Sonic answered and Chaos nodded, yes. 

"It's hopeless." Eggman whispered, covering his face with his hands, in despair. 

"Ah, don't feel bad, master. We will find them and make them pay." Chaos assured him. 

"Yes, indeed." Metal Sonic agreed. "We must go now and find them in Austin, or else." 

"Or else what?" Chaos asked him, curiously. 

"We're toast." Metal whispered, shaking slightly and hiding his eyes in his hat. 

= = = = = 

Location: Austin, Texas… 

"Here we are!" Sonic said, stepping outside the RV with his friends following. 

"So, this is Austin…" Shadow said, looking around at the new sights around him.

"Hey, how are you doing now, Knuckles? You okay?" Sonic asked him, concerned. 

"I'm fine now, thanks. I'm just glad we made it here alive. Texas is huge." Knuckles said. 

"Let's go to Town Lake!" Amy said, telling them her idea. 

"Great idea. We're not very far away from there. Let's go see it." Sonic said, and so then, they were on their way downtown, in the RV to see the beautiful lake. 

The RV made a safe stop near the Lake and everyone stepped outside. Sonic suddenly wanted to race them there and so he ran with them following him toward the bridge. They made it there. 

"Oh, it's beautiful!" All three of the girls said it together. 

"I don't know." Tails said, "It makes me thirsty." 

Sonic smiled and then he looked down at the water from the bridge on which he and his friends stood, and the view was fantastic to see. But then suddenly, Sonic saw something he did not expect, looking into his reflection from the lake. He saw that it was a robot hedgehog. 

"Metal!" Sonic gasped and fell backwards. Shadow and Knuckles caught him to break his fall. 

"Howdy." Metal waved his hand, and at least he was not wearing his hat at the moment. 

Amy screamed and hid behind Tails, trembling. Sonic stood up, stomped his foot and then he pointed toward the robot with his finger, angry. 

"Y--you!" Sonic said, not daring to let out another word. 

"Hello, imitation of my great self. I'm here to take you and the Emerald. Surrender or perish!" The robot said, and then Chaos landed beside him, hissing while looking right at Shadow. 

"Prepare for termination!" Chaos said, stepping toward them. 

"You can't take me down! I'll fight!" Sonic said, bravely jumping toward Metal. 

"We meet again." Shadow whispered when Chaos came in front of him. 

"Yes, and it shall be the last time." Chaos threatened, and then he attacked. 

"Tails, take the girls to the RV. I'll handle this!" Knuckles said, running to help. 

The echidna made it just in time to help Sonic bring down Metal but Shadow was on his own, fighting against Chaos. The black hedgehog was hit in the face, the stomach and finally the head, damaging it the most. Shadow became dizzy after Chaos hit him again and his strength was failing. The hedgehog let out a cry of pain, falling down but Chaos caught him only to strike him again, and that strike sent Shadow down into the lake. He fell in the water, unconscious.  

"NO! Shadow!!" Sonic cried out, and without fear, he jumped into the lake after him. 

Something broke through his mind as the blue hedgehog fell. He was falling; he remembered how Shadow fell like a falling star after they had saved the people together like a true team. Shadow should have died, but Sonic later found out he survived after the fall. But now, he felt that it was happening again. He could not lose Shadow again, not now and not like this. He fell in, feet first with a splash and then he vanished. Knuckles ran to the edge of the bridge, breathless. There was no sign of Sonic or Shadow anywhere. They were gone. Then Knuckles turned around but Metal Sonic and Chaos were also gone, nowhere to be seen. They just vanished. Suddenly, Knuckles heard police cars in the distance, coming toward the lake. 

"Sonic! Shadow!" Knuckles called, and he ran down toward the lake, hoping to see them. But to his despair, they were not there… 


	7. Living dreams

**Chapter 7: Living dreams **

Knuckles the Echidna returned to the RV alone and he found the others there but sadly, Sonic and Shadow had not returned. He was so sure that they would be there, but they were not. He felt heavy and tired as he walked toward the team. They were standing by the RV, waiting. They all felt torn as if an important part of them was missing. They saw two friends gone. 

"Where's Sonic and Shadow?" Amy asked the echidna. 

"I don't know. I thought they would be here, but they had fallen in the lake." Knuckles replied, sadly shaking his head, no and looking down at the ground. 

"Oh no." Rouge whispered, placing her hand over her mouth and worried in her eyes. 

"We must call a search and find them. They've got to be here somewhere." Tails said. 

"Right." Tikal said, "We should go in teams and I'm sure they'll be found."  

"Okay, Tails and Amy, you search around the bridge. Tikal and Rouge, you will search the land near the lake, and I'll look in the water." Knuckles said to them, and they agreed to go. 

They all went their separate ways, seeking the two hedgehogs, their friends. 

= = = = = 

After a struggle, a hand reached a low tree branch, gripping it tightly for life. It was the gloved hand of Sonic the Hedgehog. He had barley made it through and he never let go of Shadow. Sonic was weak as he pulled both Shadow and himself out of the lake, reaching land at last. Sonic coughed, falling to the ground with exhaustion and Shadow was beside him, quiet and still. After a moment of rest and recovery, Sonic turned to Shadow, on his hands and knees. His friend was on his back, on the wet ground and his eyes were closed, hardly breathing. 

"Shadow?" Sonic could only whisper, weakly. "Shadow, wake up… please, wake up." 

No answer, only cold silence. Sonic held Shadow up, helping him to breathe and finally, Shadow coughed the water out of his mouth. He could not open his eyes or speak. 

"Come on, Shadow, don't fail me." Sonic whispered, holding him. "We can do this together. We must get back. Don't let go and don't give up. I know you can do it." 

Shadow was without words but he squeezed the right arm of Sonic with a weak grip. Sonic felt it. He held Shadow, standing up on his feet. His legs trembled at first but he was determined to return with Shadow. He carried him, fighting his weakness and his doubts. He stopped for a moment and leaned against a tree and then he continued walking, holding Shadow. He heard Shadow cough again, weaker this time. The sound made Sonic go stronger as he fought harder with every step he took. Shadow gasped for air, unable to breathe and then Sonic stopped. 

"Hey, don't quit! Shadow, don't let go!" Sonic said, strengthening Shadow and himself. 

Shadow's eyes were closed and he coughed again, trying to breathe easy but it was difficult. Sonic helped him, never letting go and fighting to hope. But Shadow slipped out of his grip, falling to the ground. Sonic was weak and fell down with him. 

"No… I--I won't let you give up." Sonic whispered, breathing heavily. "Shadow?" 

His friend still could not answer but Sonic struggled, fighting until he stood up with Shadow again. He carried Shadow in his arms, walking again while feeling Shadow's heartbeat against his own. He held him that tight and close. He continued in the journey; he fought to win and to save. 

= = = = = 

The team gathered around the RV to report and sadly, it was not good news. Sonic and Shadow were nowhere to be found. They looked and searched, but only failure meant them. They felt hopelessness, helplessness and doubt was covering their sight of courage like a dark storm cloud. Knuckles stood, soak and wet with his wounded shoulder from the fight against Metal before Shadow fell. He heard the reports and closed his eyes with sadness in his sigh. Seeing this, each team member closed their eyes, feeling a sense of loss and despair. Amy wiped a tear away from her cheek and when she opened her eyes, she gasped when she saw Sonic coming. 

"Look! It's Sonic and Shadow! They made it! They're back!" Amy shouted, joyfully. 

The team opened their eyes and they all looked toward the direction where Amy was pointing. It was true. Sonic and Shadow had come back and they were alive. The team ran to them, some laughing and some crying. Sonic fell down to his knees with Shadow in his arms. 

"Take him inside to recover." He forced his voice to say. 

"We will, Sonic, just take it easy. You both need to rest." Knuckles said, and then he took Shadow away, carrying him into the RV while Rouge and Tails helped Sonic inside. 

Shadow was placed on a warm bed and Sonic rested on the other bed close by on the other side of the small room. Sonic could not close his eyes. He was afraid of losing Shadow. Yes, he was actually afraid. He felt it. He turned his head and looked toward his friend. Shadow was asleep… or was he? Sonic could not take the dreadful thoughts going through his mind. He tried to sit up, but he could not move. He felt so heavy and he had used all his strength to return. 

"Shadow…" Sonic whispered, as his eyes closed, falling asleep. He gripped the bed sheets in his hand as tight as he could, trying to hold on but he could not anymore. He finally fell asleep. 

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, Shadow was in a dream as he strove to reach recovery. He breathed heavily, running and panting. It was dark but suddenly, red lights began to flash and light the dim hallway of the space colony ARK. His heart pounded with fear in his chest, dreading and yet not knowing. 

"Find them before they escape!" He heard the military men yell. 

Shadow ran faster, forgetting completely that it was a dream. It was all happening again. The room became as black as midnight and then he closed his eyes, wishing that it would end. But then something made him open his eyes, and then he saw her, standing and looking at him. 

"Maria!!" Shadow cried, raising his hands against the glass, which surrounded him in the chamber. He wanted to break out and reach her and he wanted to save her. 

"Shadow…" Maria whispered, enough for him to hear her voice. "I beg of you… please do it for me… for a better future…" 

"Maria!" He called her again, but she only continued speaking. 

"For all people who live on that planet, give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams. Shadow, I know you can do it. That's the reason why you were brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog." 

Shadow realized it was a dream. He remembered this. He shook his head, crying softly. "Maria, I didn't forget. I promise you and I will never let it go. Wishes are eternal." He whispered in his sleep. 

= = = = = 

At the same time, Sonic was also having a dream of a time and place he remembered well. He was surrounded with darkness and stars. Shadow was beside him as they watched the FINALHAZARD fall down, defeated because of their great teamwork. But it was not over yet. 

The ARK was approaching Earth to destroy it. The two hedgehogs hurried and made their way toward it, fighting against the strong waves of wind that tried to push them back, but they continued. 

"No way that's getting through!" Sonic said, and he stood between Earth and the disaster above. When the right moment arrived, he spoke. "Now, Shadow!" 

"Chaos Control!!" They said it together, ending the war. It all disappeared after a bright light. 

Sonic smiled at the victory and then he turned to Shadow who helped him make it all happen, but he was not beside him. He looked down and as he dreaded, Shadow was falling. 

"Oh no! NO!!" Sonic cried, and with his hand, he reached for Shadow to save him.

At last, he gripped Shadow's hand and he tried his best to pull him up to safety but something was taking him away. Sonic pulled harder and he felt warm tears in his eyes. He could not accept what was happening. He could hardly see now because the tears burned in his eyes. 

"Shadow, please!" Sonic cried out to him. "Fight it, Shadow! Come back with me!" 

"I can't go any further. You go, Sonic. Go back and live." Shadow said, weakly. 

"No, I can't, Shadow! I'm not losing you!!" Sonic cried again, pulling harder. 

Just then, Shadow's hand slipped away and all Sonic held was his flame ring. Sonic had no voice as he opened his mouth to scream, reaching for Shadow one more time. But it was too late. Sonic helplessly watched in horror as Shadow vanished. He fell like a falling star and faded away like a shadow. Sonic was grieved at the terrible sight and the sorrowful loss. He could not accept it. 

= = = = = 

After a gasp of fear, Sonic sat up, sweating on his face. He had awakened from his dream. He found himself in the RV, on a bed and he turned to see Shadow. The black hedgehog was also awake and he let a weak smile go free. Sonic smiled back, letting out a weak sigh of relief. 

"We made it." Sonic whispered, tired but yet very glad in his voice. 

"We made it together." Shadow added, and then Sonic nodded his head, yes. 

The two friends shook hands and then they hugged each other. Then the whole team came together as the others entered the room, clapping and cheering for the two heroes. In his heart, Sonic rejoiced, knowing the wonderful fact that they were together again, never to be parted. 

"I hope you boys are hungry, because Tikal made you both some soup." Amy told them. 

"I think we can handle that." Sonic said, and he winked his eye at Shadow. 

"Great! Then here it comes." Knuckles said, as Tikal and Rouge entered the room, each carrying a tray with hot soup for the two healing hedgehogs. It was just what they needed. 

Shadow held a spoon and took a sip of the soup, trying it. It was delicious and he felt his strength returning to him. Sonic enjoyed it also and the team happily watched them, smiling. Sonic came to the last spoon full of his soup and then he looked toward Shadow who lifted the bowl to his mouth, drinking the final sip. Sonic watched him with wide opened eyes, surprised and glad. When Shadow came to the final drop, he slurped it down, making a funny sound and so Sonic laughed out loud, unable to fight it. Shadow opened his eyes and placed the soup bowl down, wondering what was funny. Sonic laughed again, pointing to Shadow. 

"Ha! I didn't know that!" He said, laughing again, nearly falling off the bed. 

"What?" Shadow asked, with pure confusion seen on his face. 

"The Ultimate Life Form slurps his soup! That's hilarious!" Sonic laughed harder. 

"I'll give you something hilarious!" Shadow said, pretending to be angry as he took his pillow and began hitting Sonic with it. The blue hedgehog continued laughing. 

"Two can play at that game! Pillow fight!" Sonic said, taking his pillow, fighting back. 

They both laughed while hitting each other with the pillows and the team backed away; surprised at their quick recovery. Knuckles was the least surprised to see it. 

"Well, it looks like everything is back to normal." The echidna said with a grin.

As you can see, my noble readers, true friendship never dies. It only becomes stronger and higher. 


	8. Cave wonders

**Chapter 8: Cave wonders **

And so, with the team all safe and together again, they continued in their adventure on wheels, on the road again. They soon entered west Texas and it became dry and sunny outside, no rain and the sky was clear, blue and beautiful. The driver was Sonic the Hedgehog as he and his great crew came to a place called Sonora, Texas. You may or may not have heard but there is a wonderful, interesting cave to explore and learn facts about caves there. Located just 8 miles west of Sonora, Texas, the Caverns of Sonora is a great place to experience the wonders of nature. The Caverns of Sonora is a natural cave that is one of the most active caves in the world, with more than 90% of the formations in the cave still "growing" and is known as a Natural / National Landmark.** At the Caverns, there are many activities to keep you busy, such as: Sluicing for gems, exploring the nature trail, camping out, and relaxing while enjoying the outdoors.**** Tours of the cave leave constantly with usually never more then a thirty-minute wait. Three different tours display the caves beauty, with each tour showing different areas of the cave. It's all in the Lone Star State. **

"Hey, listen to this, Sonic…" Tails said, holding a Texas traveler's guidebook. "According to this, there's a cave close to us here, where you can be a tourist and learn about them." 

"I don't think I want to be a tortoise in a cave, little buddy." Sonic gulped. 

"No, not a tortoise, but a tourist." Tails corrected him. 

"Well, a cave sure sounds interesting. Maybe we should go see it." Knuckles suggested. 

"Okay, I'll do it for you guys." Sonic said, and then he followed the directions of Tails until they reached the place. Sonic stopped the RV in a parking lot and then he stepped outside. 

"Oh, it's so good to be outside again." Rouge said, breathing in the fresh air. 

"Sonic, it's beautiful here!" Amy giggled, standing beside him with a smile. 

"Yeah, it's okay I guess." Sonic shrugged. "But right now, let's go see the cave." 

They entered the building together but the villain Dr. Eggman saw them. Metal Sonic and Chaos stood ready to attack. Eggman sat in his ship and he turned to them with another evil plan. 

"Okay, the targets have been spotted. Metal, Chaos, on with the show!" Eggman said, "Go inside and follow them, get that Emerald and destroy the hedgehog once and for all."  

"That will be easy, boss." Metal Sonic said, with no doubt. "We'll be back." 

The robot hedgehog walked toward the building and Chaos followed him inside. They watched as Sonic and his friends stood to buy their tickets. 

"Here you go, sir. Your tour guide is waiting for you at the door to your right." The lady pointed. 

"Thanks." Sonic said, and then he turned, walking toward the door. The blue hedgehog and his team stopped next to the door but they saw no one there. 

"Hey, where is he? Where's the tour guide?" Tails asked, looking around. 

"I'm down here." A voice said, and then the team looked down, very surprised. 

"Oh no!" They all said it together when they saw Omochao. 

"Hi! I'm Omochao, and I'm here to help." He said to the Sonic crew, happily.   

"I don't believe this! I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me!" Knuckles said, amazed. 

Shadow shrugged his shoulders and then he pinched the red echidna, making him yelp. 

"Ouch! My goodness! Why did you do that?" Knuckles asked, holding his arm. 

"You asked for it." Shadow answered, simply. 

"Me and my big fat mouth." Knuckles mumbled to himself.

"Please follow me and I'll be very happy to give you a tour of the cave." Omochao said, leading the way outside the door. The Sonic team followed, not having much of a choice. 

"Now is our chance…" Metal whispered, "Victory is ours, no doubt about it." 

"They're getting away. We must go after them." Chaos whispered, stepping forward. 

Metal Sonic walked ahead of him but then the lady at the front desk stopped them. "Hold it right there, you two. You must purchase a ticket before entering the cave with a guide." 

"I do not need a guide. I have radar." Metal told her, pointing to his head.  

"That may be true," The lady said, "But you must have a ticket." 

"Uh-oh. Were we speeding?" Chaos asked, worried in his voice. 

"No." The lady answered, clearly annoyed at the ridiculous question. "You need to buy a ticket before you enter the cave and a tour guide will lead you." 

"Strange world." Metal said, shaking his head, no. "We cannot buy a ticket." 

"Why not? Do you have any money?" She asked him. 

Metal looked where his pockets should be and Chaos did the same, feeling for a wallet, but none was found. Metal looked up at her again, shaking his head. "Nope." He answered. 

"Then how do you expect to see the cave?" The lady asked. 

"Well, we don't expect it. We just want it." Chaos replied, and Metal nodded, yes. 

"This is outrageous! I'm calling security…" The lady reached for a phone and when she looked up again, Metal Sonic and Chaos were gone, nowhere in sight. 

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, the Sonic crew were already well on their way in the cave journey as they followed the tour guide Omochao. He explained to them some facts about caves and showed them deep in the heart of that underground world. "No one really knows for sure how our Cave was first discovered, but the most popular legend behind it all is that around the turn of the century, a hunter was hunting on the Mayfield Ranch. Supposedly, his dog chased a raccoon into the entrance of the cave, which was only 15 inches in diameter. The entrance to the cave was then covered and forgotten.** Then, in the 1920's, two teenagers, a brother and sister, explored a short way into the cave using only candles and twine to find their way.**** During the 1950's, the Mayfield's had the cave professionally explored. 7 miles of passage was discovered, only 2 of which are shown on current tours.**** The cave was then developed and in 1959, the cave was first opened to the public…" And so Omochao talked throughout the tour.  **

Amy remained close to the side of Sonic to feel safe. "It's so dark down here," She whispered, "I wonder if it ever ends, Sonic." 

"At this rate, I hope I see the light very soon." Sonic said, stepping away from her. 

Knuckles stopped and stood still, looking up at the cave's wall, perhaps fighting the temptation to climb. He turned to Rouge who was standing beside him. "Well, at least you should be right at home here." Knuckles teased, grinning. 

Then Rouge, with anger seen on her face, pinched Knuckles on the arm. 

"OW!" Knuckles gasped, surprised. "Why in the world is everyone always pinching me?" 

Then Tikal pinched his other arm, not very hard but enough for him to keep quiet. 

"Yow!" Knuckles said; jumping away and he came to Sonic and Shadow. 

"Hey, the tour guide said no jumping in the cave." Sonic reminded the echidna, quietly. 

"If you only knew…" Knuckles sighed, shaking his head with his eyes closed. 

"Knew what?" Sonic asked him, but before Knuckles answered, Metal Sonic spoke. 

"You're doomed, hedgehog!" Metal said, pointing a gun weapon toward the team. 

"You again!" Sonic said; stepping forward and Shadow stood beside him. 

"Oh, yeah, I get around because of my intelligence." Metal said, "And now, as I was saying…" 

"They're doomed, remember?" Chaos reminded him. 

"Yes, doomed, of course. Like I said before, victory is mine." The robot hedgehog said. 

"Victory is ours, so that's me too." Chaos said, a little angry with him. 

"Whatever. Let's just do our job." Metal said, and then Omochao came in front of them. 

"To purchase a ticket for the cave tour, go to the front desk and a guide will lead you through. It's the best way to learn about caves and underground wonders--" 

Omochao was forced to stop speaking when Metal fired the weapon and then without any warning, Omochao was caught in a spider web, which came from the gun weapon. 

"Hey, stop that! Let me go!" Omochao said, trying to free himself but it was useless. 

"Good shot, Metal." Chaos said, and he clapped his hands. 

"Thank you, thank you. I am humbled." Metal said, quite proud but Sonic was furious. 

"You must have followed us here and that means Eggman is near." Sonic said, understanding. 

"You're right, and now, here is your prize!" Metal said, and then suddenly, both Metal and Chaos fired the weapons toward the team and before they could move, they were trapped against the wall with the spider web wrapped around them, holding them to the cave's dark wall. 

"Yuck! This is sticky, slimy and stinky stuff!" Sonic said, trying to fight against it. 

"Cut out the stinky and you'll have a lollipop." Tails said, and then he gulped. 

"Maybe grape jelly would be better." Knuckles added. 

"I was thinking of peanut butter." Shadow said, feeling hunger in his stomach all the sudden. 

"You eat what you eat, I'll eat what I like." Knuckles told the black hedgehog.  

"Silence!" Metal said, with his voice echoing in the dim lighted cave. "Well, Chaos, it looks like we got them all this time, but I'm almost sure there were a few more." 

"There were more and it was the girls. I don't see them anywhere." Chaos told him. 

"Oh, it doesn't matter. That pink one always gives me a headache." Metal said, quietly. 

"You got that right, buster!" Amy said, as she suddenly jumped from behind a rock and she swung her hammer toward the robot hedgehog, hitting him hard on the head. 

"Not again." Metal said, dizzy as he fell to the cave's floor, damaged. 

"Amy!" Sonic called, as Chaos turned to the female hedgehog, hissing. Sonic struggled harder to free himself but it was no use. Chaos came in front of the pink hedgehog, ready to attack. 

"You are extinct, pink!" Chaos said, lifting his deadly clawed hand to strike her. 

But then suddenly, Rouge who was hanging upside down from the cave wall above them appeared and she kicked the enemy down with her white boot. Sonic and his friends watched with total surprise as Chaos fell down to the ground beside Metal and Rouge stood up. 

"How's that? Perfect, like me?" She asked, winking her eye and smiling proudly. 

"You were great, Rouge!" Amy said, clapping her hands and cheering. 

"Hey, you weren't so bad yourself, girl." Rouge said, turning to the pink hedgehog. 

Then Tikal appeared and she made the final touches, using the enemy's weapon and so Metal and Chaos were trapped in a spider web together. "How can I make you understand?" Tikal asked, and then she came to the other two girls and they together cheered for their victory. 

"This is awful. Girls saved us." Tails said; astonished at what he just saw. 

"But I thought we were the heroes." Knuckles said, feeling so small now. 

"How humiliating." Shadow whispered, closing his eyes to escape the sight. 

"Yeah, shameful." Sonic quietly agreed and he blushed when Amy freed him from the web trap. He stood up and then he freed the captured Omochao. 

"Thank you for saving me. I was so scared." Omochao said, very grateful. 

"No problem." Sonic said, and he watched as the police took Metal and Chaos away. 

After that, Omochao led them through to the end of the tour and the Sonic team enjoyed it. They came to the exit and found the RV, unharmed and so they continued in their journey. There was so much to see and Sonic wanted to see most if not all of it. He was a leader, explorer and a traveler. The RV began to move and it left the area. Meanwhile, Eggman was able to save Metal Sonic and Chaos from jail and again, he was disappointed to meet with failure.  

"How could you let them escape again?" Eggman asked, after rescuing them. 

"It was his fault!" Metal and Chaos said at the same time, pointing to each other. 

"You're lucky I didn't leave you to be jailbirds, but next time, I won't be so merciful." Eggman warned and then he asked them, "How did the hedgehog escape?" 

"We did capture him, boss, but I was hit on the head." Metal pointed to it, sadly. 

"Yeah, and a monstrous white vampire bat attacked me." Chaos added, trembling. 

"How horrifying." Eggman yawned. "We will hunt them down and find them. I will not tolerate any more failures. The hedgehog will be terminated. Is that clear?" He asked.   

"Clear as a bell, boss." Metal Sonic replied, nodding his head, yes. 

"We understand, master. We will try harder." Chaos told him, humbly. 

"Very well. Now with that settled, we must continue and find that RV." Eggman said, and then he drove in his huge truck, following the road with Metal and Chaos. 

The Sonic crew in the RV had a safe start to reach safety, away from the enemy but it was only a matter of when, not if Eggman would strike again. Somehow, Sonic knew his foe would never give up but he would keep his friends safe; keep them away from danger because he could never lose any of them. Friends are priceless, and no matter how far Sonic had wandered that is one thing he had learned and never forgot. Leaving the dust behind, he traveled onward. 


	9. Warp drive

**Chapter 9: Warp drive  **

Now as the RV traveled further and further, the Sonic crew soon entered a desert somewhere in New Mexico in a place called Columbus. The sun was going down when they arrived and the beautiful sunset caught everyone's eye. It was the color of gold with a touch of pink and a bit of violet as the day was coming to a calm and quiet end. Sonic stopped the RV and in a need to stretch, he stepped outside, standing on the ground. His friends joined him and they all faced the direction of the sunset. They shared a moment of silence, one that could never be repeated.

"There it goes." Knuckles said, quietly pointing toward the sun as it disappeared from sight. 

"That was amazing." Tails whispered almost to himself, still gazing at the sky. 

"Awesome and really cool." Sonic agreed, smiling. 

"It was like a movie." Amy said, and excited about what she saw. 

"That's funny…" Rouge said, "I was thinking the same thing." 

"Then all we need now is popcorn." Shadow said, hinting for something. 

"We have a way to make that happen." Tikal said, "All I need is a campfire." 

"Wow, good idea. Let's do it right here." Sonic said, and everyone agreed. 

They parked the RV near a mountain where they had a great view of the sky above and since it was cold outside, they made a nice campfire, which they made in a fireplace surrounded with rocks they had gathered and placed on the ground. Tikal prepared a pot of popcorn and placed it over the fire, and then everyone gathered around the campfire, waiting. Tails and Amy were roasting marshmallows over the fire, having a fun time. Sonic sat quietly on a rock, thinking in his mind but his thoughts were his own. I cannot tell but perhaps he is thinking of the journey ahead of them all tomorrow. His thoughts broke when Amy came to him. 

"Sonic, have a marshmallow." Amy offered it to him on a stick. 

"No, thanks." Sonic said, quietly and he tried to return to his thinking.   

"But I made this one just for you." Amy said, sad and disappointed in her voice. 

Then Sonic sighed, turning to her and he accepted it. "Okay, I'll take it, Amy." 

"Good. I hope you like it. Try it, Sonic." Amy said, happy again to see him holding it. 

Sonic fought against a grin and then he took the marshmallow in one bite, surprising Amy. He licked his lips clean and then suddenly; a popping sound was heard from the campfire. It was the popcorn and it was ready for the team. Tikal placed the pot in the midst of them and they began to enjoy it while watching the stars and talking. Sonic finished his last bite and then he noticed Amy was sitting alone with her arms wrapped around herself. She was shivering. 

"Hey, Amy, what's wrong?" Sonic asked, standing beside her while she sat on a rock. 

"Nothing. I'm just cold." Amy answered, looking up at him with her green eyes. 

Then Sonic left her, entering the RV. He returned with a warm blanket and he wrapped it around her. Amy held the blanket close, feeling warm almost instantly. 

"Thank you, Sonic. I feel warm now." Amy told him, smiling at him. 

"That's good." Sonic said, and then he turned and he was quite surprised to see Knuckled and Tikal, dancing. The echidnas danced near the campfire, making the others laugh with enjoyment. 

"Shadow, are you going to ask me to dance?" Rouge asked the black hedgehog. 

"Ultimate Life Forms don't dance." Shadow answered, closing his eyes. 

"I'll dance with you, Rouge." Tails said, bowing his head and trying to be a gentleman. 

"How sweet of you, fox boy. I'd love to." Rouge shyly giggled and took his hand. 

Amy watched them and then she looked at Sonic with a smile. "Are you going to ask me to dance too?" She asked, sitting on a rock while he stood, crossing his arms. 

"I think perhaps I might ask you to dance if you were the last girl on earth." Sonic replied. 

"You don't mean that, Sonic!" Amy said, and then she kicked a small stone away. 

"Look, I don't even know how if I fell over it." Sonic said, truthfully. 

"I don't care and besides, I can show you how." Amy kindly offered. 

"Uh… not tonight. I feel really tired and need some shut eye for tomorrow." Sonic said, and he fake-yawned, reached for his toothbrush and began brushing. 

"Just a little dance, Sonic, please?" Amy asked him, begging. 

"No way!" Sonic said, after spitting out his mint toothpaste. He rinsed his mouth with water and then Amy held his hand, still not giving up.  

"Oh, Sonic, you can't say no. Just a little, tiny bit, pretty please?" She asked, cutely. 

Sonic slipped his hand out from hers, spitting the water on the ground and then he coughed. He turned to her, still unsure but before he could answer, Metal Sonic suddenly appeared and he caught Amy from behind, holding her by the arms and pulled her away from Sonic. 

"Looks like the last dance belongs to me." Metal said, looking at Sonic, his enemy. 

"SONIC! HELP! SAVE ME!" Amy screamed, loudly. It was her only defense at the moment. 

"At least you can't hit me with that murderous hammer of yours, but your voice is just as deadly, so be quiet, pink pest!" Metal covered her mouth to silence her cries for help. 

Sonic gasped when he saw her green eyes, wide with terror as Metal aimed a dangerous gun weapon to her. "NO!" Sonic yelled, "Don't hurt her! It's me you want! Let her go now!" 

"You're willing to take her place?" Metal asked him. 

"More than willing. Let her go and we'll have our 'talk' fist to fist!" Sonic said, without fear. 

"Sounds very tempting, hedgehog. I just hope you will be a challenge for me."  

"The last Sonic standing will be the winner!" Sonic challenged him, bravely. 

"This world isn't big enough for both of us, so one has to go." Metal told him. 

"I agree!" Sonic said, and he ran toward the robot as it dropped Amy. She fell to the ground, unharmed and she looked as Sonic jumped into a homing attack, jumping toward Metal.   

"Sonic, watch out!" Amy called, warning him in time to jump to safety. 

Metal nearly hit him but missed again, giving Sonic the chance to attack, which he did. The robot hedgehog moved to attack his foe and Sonic stood to protect. Sonic avoided a punch and again, he came jumping into a homing attack, damaging Metal. But the robot stood again and with a forceful strike, he threw Sonic down, casting him to the ground. The blue hedgehog lay still, not moving so Metal carefully approached him. When the robot was over him, Sonic attacked suddenly and strongly, and with that done, Metal fell backwards to the ground. It's strange how even a hedgehog can play opossum. The two stood up and faced each other; Sonic was catching his breath while Metal stared with his glowing red eyes, perhaps thinking of another attack plan. Then suddenly, Eggman's voice was heard through a communication device on Metal's hand. 

_"Metal, get back here this instant before the mountain blows up with you!"_

"What? Blows up?" Sonic gasped, with his green eyes widening. 

"I'd love to stay and finish you off, but duty calls. Adios, hedgehog!" Metal escaped into the darkness and then Sonic turned and looked toward the mountain. They had four minutes. 

"The RV! The team! Oh no!" Sonic cried, and he ran while holding Amy's hand. He hurried and returned to camp to find out that Shadow, Knuckles and Rouge had to fight with Chaos but he got away with Metal. There was no time to lose so Sonic told them all to hurry. 

"How can we make it in time, Sonic? The RV is not fast enough!" Tails said, entering it. 

"We have only one chance or we'll be blown to kingdom come! Shadow, if we use the Chaos Emerald, you think it will work and get us out of here?" Sonic asked him. 

"No doubt!" Shadow answered, confidently.

"Okay, then let's try it. Knuckles, pass me the Emerald and quick!" Sonic said, and he reached for it as Knuckles handed it to the hedgehog. "Shadow, take the wheel, you drive us outta here like wild and I'll place the Emerald in the engine. As soon as I do, blast off!" 

"But Sonic, shouldn't we wait for you?" Tails asked, worried for him.   

"No time, Tails. I'll be fine. Just go!" Sonic said, and then he closed the door. 

He ran outside to the front of the RV, opened the hood and as soon as he placed the Emerald in the engine, the RV drove off almost uncontrollably. It appeared as if they had warp drive. Shadow was the driver and even though he wanted to wait for Sonic to be inside, the RV began to move and he had no choice but to control it. The RV somehow made it to safety and the team heard a loud explosion behind them. The RV shook slightly when it happened but no one was harmed. When they were in a safe place, the RV slowed down and returned to its normal speed again, so Shadow stopped and jumped outside, looking for Sonic. Everyone else came outside in the dark with flashlights and they looked all around the RV and above it but Sonic was not there. They all gathered in front of the RV, sadly telling the news without words. 

"Is he…?" Amy could not finish the question. 

The team did not dare to answer and then to their great surprise, they heard someone cough from underneath the RV. They all looked and they saw Sonic crawl out from under the RV, holding the Emerald in his hand. His white gloves, his arms and face had car grease lightly speckled on and the team; thankful with true gladness came running to him. 

"Oh, Sonic, you were wonderful! You did it!" Amy kissed his cheek. 

"Don't be gross!" Sonic said, wiping it away with his hand. 

"So, what was it like down there?" Knuckles asked, curiously when Sonic stood up on his feet. 

"It was windy." Sonic replied, after a short moment of thinking. 

"Windy?" Shadow asked, and then Sonic cleaned the grease off with a washcloth. 

"Yeah, but right now, we gotta jet and fill it up. The RV is starving." Sonic said. 

"After all this, I'm hungry too." Tails said, smiling at the hedgehog. 

"I'll fix that. Come on, let's go!" Sonic called, and together as it should be, the crew entered the faithful and amazing RV, leaving the area. It was a close call but Sonic found a way out, giving death a fighting chance to live and that is what he always does. Into the night, the RV disappeared but when it reaches light once again danger may come with the day. Sonic would have to plan on it happening and be ready for anything that may come on the road in the journey ahead. 


	10. Get off my back

**Chapter 10: Get off my back **

It was the next day when Sonic and his crew reached a city called Albuquerque, which is in New Mexico. It was a beautiful place and so the team stopped to have lunch and refill the RV's propane tank. When that was done, Sonic entered the RV and everyone was inside, holding a plate and making a strange face. Sonic wondered why. Then he suddenly understood. 

"Hey, guys, I get the hint. I'll feed you…" He told them, grinning. 

"It's not that," Tails said, and he pointed to Shadow who was in the kitchen. "Look." 

"Shadow?" Sonic whispered when he saw the black hedgehog cooking at the stove, holding a pan. Sonic smelled something cooking. "What's that smell?" He asked, sniffing. 

"I'm making Spam for everyone." Shadow answered, turning the meat in the pan. 

"Spam?" Sonic asked, very surprised. "Shadow, I didn't know you cooked!" 

"It's time I learned." Shadow said, hiding a smile. He placed the cooked meat on a plate and he gave it to Sonic who was still confused and very surprised. "Now, you're my official taster."

"What the--ME?" Sonic gasped, with his green eyes growing wide. 

"Yeah, you." Shadow pointed to him. "You'll have the first try of my cooking." 

"But Shadow, please…" Sonic begged for mercy. "Please…" He whined. 

"Eat it." Shadow commanded him. 

"Do it, Sonic, for our sake." Knuckles said, humbly. "If anything happens… well--"

"Put a sock in it. I'll eat it and live." Sonic said, and then he held the meat with his fork, staring at it and he gulped at the sight. Everyone watched, not daring to blink as the brave blue hedgehog took a bite of the Spam. He chewed carefully and his eyes shot opened like he had just awakened from a nightmare. He dropped the fork on his plate and he gripped his throat, choking. 

"Oh, my word! Shoot me!" Sonic struggled to swallow it, holding onto the kitchen sink tightly with his free hand, shook his head and then he stood up, clearing his throat. He turned to Shadow. 

"Well? What do you think, Sonic? Tell me the truth." Shadow asked him, wondering. 

"It's… um… uh… It's very improved, Shadow." Sonic answered, quietly and then he retreated to the driver seat. He took a long drink of his soda before turning the key to drive. 

"What does he mean? What happened last time?" Knuckles asked, whispering to Rouge. 

"Don't ask." Rouge answered back in a whisper. 

= = = = =

Later that day, Sonic and his friends enjoyed the afternoon in the city, having a wonderful time together. By the time the sun was setting, going down on that busy day, Amy and the other girls had visited nearly every store in the city, shopping. As you can imagine, the boys were not interested in such things. They waited outside next to the RV while Amy, Rouge and Tikal were still inside a shopping store, having a fun time, the girl way. Sonic let out a yawn. 

"Oh, I'm glad I'm not like them." He said to himself. "There's nothing like a true blue hedgehog." He sighed, closing his green eyes while leaning against the RV. 

"Well, an echidna isn't such a bad thing to be either." Knuckles said, who was standing between Sonic and Shadow, leaning against the RV, resting after a long afternoon. 

"Hey, a fox is cool to be too." Tails said, from the RV window, inside. 

Shadow was quiet, sipping his cold lemonade from a straw. It seemed like nothing in the world could go wrong but then again, Metal Sonic and Chaos were on the other side of the RV, and they were both happy to finally find them at last. Metal whispered a plan to the other villain and Chaos nodded his head, yes, agreeing completely. He rubbed his hands together, greedily. 

"Oh, boy, great plan, Metal!" He said, too loudly. Metal growled and covered his mouth to silence him but the voice reached Shadow's ears. 

"Hey, did you hear that?" Shadow asked in a whisper. 

"What? Did they finally close the store and throw the girls out?" Sonic asked him. 

"No, something on the other side of the RV." Shadow replied, quietly.  

"Rats, it could be more trouble if you know what I mean." Knuckles said. 

"I'm afraid I do." Sonic whispered, "Let's go over there and see what's up."   

"Okay, but let's be very, very careful and take it easy." Knuckles whispered, tip toeing. 

The three carefully with caution made their way very quietly to the front of the RV and when they reached the front, they all three gasped when they saw Dr. Eggman in his ship along with Metal Sonic and Chaos, both standing ready to attack them. Danger was in the air. 

"Ha! Ha! Any last words, hedgehog?" Eggman asked, pointing a laser weapon toward him. 

"Yeah… uh… So long!" Sonic said, and then he turned, running around the RV with Shadow and Knuckles following him and they were followed by the three enemies. At that moment it was hard to tell who was chasing whom as they ran around and around and around the RV. 

"I'll make you pay for this!" Eggman said, trying to capture them. 

"Sonic, why are we running like this?" Knuckles asked, running beside him. 

"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Sonic replied, running around the RV again. 

"I just wish they would get off our backs!" Shadow said, giving Sonic an idea. 

"Great idea, Shadow! Hey, Tails, come on, we gotta go!" Sonic called. 

"All right!" Tails said, jumping outside the RV, flying after the hedgehog. 

All together, they left the RV and the three enemies were chasing nothing now, going around and around the RV, until Eggman realized they were gone. 

"Stop! It's a hedgehog trick! Oh, how I hate that!" Eggman growled, angrily. "Metal, Chaos, go after them, destroy them all but bring the hedgehog to me alive!" He commanded. 

"Oh, goodie! He's gonna torture him." Chaos laughed in a sinister way. 

"Yeah, and we'll be next if we don't find them, so hurry up!" Metal ran while pushing Chaos ahead of him and they left to find Sonic. 

= = = = = 

_Meanwhile…_

Rouge was the first to step outside of the store and Amy with Tikal followed. They watched the sun going down for a moment and then suddenly, they saw Sonic and the others running toward them. The world's fastest hedgehog stopped in front of the girls of his team with Knuckles, Shadow and Tails behind him. Before Sonic could speak, Amy hugged him tight, giggling. 

"Oh, Sonic, you came all the way here just to see me! You're super-sweet!" She said. 

"Stop it, Amy! Let me go or I'll split in two!" Sonic gasped for air. 

Sonic freed himself and then he explained. "Listen up, gals, we gotta go now. Eggman has showed up and trouble always follows him. He must be after the Chaos Emerald." 

"Okay, we're ready." Rouge said, calmly blinking her eyes. 

"Hey, you're not carrying any bags. Didn't you find anything?" Knuckles asked. 

"There was nothing on sale, so we just looked around." Tikal answered. 

Sonic and Knuckles faced each other, and then they sighed, shaking their heads. 

"They are approaching." Shadow warned, standing with his arms crossed. 

"Follow me, guys." Sonic called, and then he ran with the team following him. He ran until he reached a park where many people were gathered together. He stopped and read a sign:

"Albuquerque BioPark Zoo Music." He then said to the team, "They'll never think of us in here and it could be a safe place to keep the Emerald while we go and kick some metal tail." 

"Bright idea but I was hoping for a good plan." Knuckles said, unsure.

Before Sonic could defend himself, a stranger stood between them, looking at his watch. "Hey, Blue Highway, come on, you're next!" He called, leaving the team very confused. 

"Say what?" Sonic asked, and then the stranger took him by the hand. 

"I know you're all nervous, but don't worry. It'll be great. Everyone is waiting for you and your new song. So, get on that stage and do your stuff." He pushed Sonic onto a stage and the team followed their faithful, brave and courageous leader. The stage was covered with a curtain. 

Sonic turned to see different kinds of musical instruments. "Guys, it looks like we've been called to sing." He told them and everyone became nervous. 

"What? That's ridiculous! I never did anything like that before." Shadow said. 

"We've got to, Shadow. People are depending on us. Now here, take this guitar and try to smile, okay?" Sonic asked, and he gave Shadow a green guitar. The blue hedgehog turned to see Knuckles at the drums, Tails at the keyboard, Rouge ready with a flute, Amy with a trumpet, and Tikal held a harmonica. Sonic took a deep breath, gripping a red guitar just as the curtain opened. 

The team stood with amazement when they saw the huge crowd of people, waiting for them. Among this crowd, Eggman, Metal and Chaos were searching for them but they had to stop when everyone began clapping, cheering for, to Eggman's great surprise, the Sonic crew. 

"Jumping corndogs! It's the hedgehog!" Eggman said in total surprise. 

"What is he doing there?" Metal asked, shrugging his shoulders. 

"What are WE doing here?" Chaos asked, but they could not move because the crowd. 

Meanwhile, on the stage, Sonic stood beside Shadow; both hedgehogs with guitars in hand with the crew behind them and so, having no choice, Sonic led them into a song. He tapped his foot, saying: "One, and a two, a one, two, three, four!" And then he began to play the guitar with great skill indeed and Shadow followed, unsmiling but he smiled whenever Sonic looked at him. So, now, listen to their song as they complete it together like the real, true team they are… 

_Sonic: "Well, you think that you can take me on, you must be crazy. There ain't a single thing you've done that's gonna phase me. Oh, but if you wanna have a go, I just want to let you know…" _

_Sonic and Shadow: "Get off of my back and into my game, get outta my way and outta my brain, get outta my face or give it your best shot. I think it's time you better face the fact, get off of my back! You know it's all just a game that I'm playing. Don't think that you can find a way in, that's what I'm saying. Oh, but if you wanna have a go, I just want to let you know… Get off of my back and into my game, get outta my way and outta my brain, get outta my face or give it your best shot. I think it's time you better face the fact, get off of my back!" _

_Sonic: "Oh, but if you wanna have a go, I just want to let you know…"  _

_Sonic and Shadow: "Get off! Get off! Yeah, get off of my back and into my game, get outta my way and outta my brain, get outta my face or give it your best shot. You know this train is coming off this track! Get off of my back! Yeah, get off of my back! Get off! Hey, get off!" _

_Tails: "Get off!"_

_Knuckles: "Get off!" _

_Amy: "Get off!"_

_Rouge: "Get off!"_

_Tikal: "Get off!"_

_Shadow: "Get off!"_

_Sonic: "Get off! Get off of my back!" _

Hearing that, everyone clapped and cheered loudly, some even screaming for the team and their wonderful performance in the song: Get Off My Back. Eggman was furious, seeing the Sonic crew waving their hands, smiling at the crowd. He knew that song was meant for him. 

"Metal, Chaos, get that hedgehog!" Eggman commanded, pointing toward him. When no answer came, he turned only to see Metal and Chaos with their eyes closed, snapping their fingers while humming the song they had just heard. "You two clowns, get them or I'll turn you into a can opener!" Eggman said, angrier than before. 

"Uh-oh!" Metal Sonic woke up. "Let's go, Chaos, or we're history!" When Chaos only continued humming and snapping his fingers, Metal took him by the arm and he flew toward the stage. 

"Party crashers coming!" Sonic warned his friends. "Time to jet! Let's jam, team!" 

Just then, Chaos landed in front of the hedgehog, hissing and ready to attack but then Sonic gave him the guitar. "Here, hold this." Sonic said, and then Chaos took it. 

"Oh, okay. I can sing my favorite song. London bridges falling down, falling down, falling down, London bridges falling down, my fair lady…" Chaos sang while playing the red guitar.

Then Metal Sonic came to his side, angry. "I should take the keys and lock you up, you goofball! Now, after that hedgehog!" Metal said; taking the guitar away and he tossed it. 

"You're just jealous." Chaos whispered without Metal hearing him. 

Meanwhile, Sonic and his great crew reached the RV and they disappeared to safety, leaving the villains with failure once again. It was time for the team to move on and discover more new and interesting things that are out there, somewhere just waiting to be explored. Sonic could never say no to that, and so we leave our heroes for now, driving into the night. Sonic is waving at YOU. 

"Yeah!" Our blue blur hero shouted as he vanished from sight down the road. 

= = = = = 

_NOTE:_ The song in this chapter is from the soundtrack CD _Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron_, by Bryan Adams. It's funny, whenever I hear the song in it called: _"__Get Off My Back"_ I think of Sonic and Shadow with guitars, singing it. Don't ask me why! Gotta blast. [ZOOM!]

= = = = = 


	11. Way out west

**Chapter 11: Way out west **

For miles and miles, Sonic and his friends saw nothing but a dust road ahead of them as the RV entered Arizona where the desert was hot during the day but it always cooled down at night. They were far from everything and it was very quiet outside with a clear blue sky. Everything was smooth and going their way, but then suddenly, an explosion was heard outside the RV. Sonic slowed down and stopped. He jumped outside with Shadow following him. They came to the front of the RV and just as Sonic feared, they had a flat tire. Knuckles and Tails came outside and looked down at the flat while Sonic and Shadow sighed heavily. 

"There's nothing around here for miles!" Knuckles said, panicking. "Here we are, in the middle of a desert and we had to get a flat tire right here. That is just awful, so terrible!" 

"Tell me about it." Sonic said, almost to himself quietly. The blue hedgehog knelt down and looked at the tire, which was now flat. He saw a large cut that damaged it. 

"What do you think did that, Sonic?" Tails asked him, standing by. 

"Not sure, Tails, but we need to replace it before dark." Sonic said, standing up on his feet. He entered the RV and found the needed tools. He began working on it with Shadow's help. 

"Of course, he needs my help, narrator. There's no way in the world he can do it without me." Shadow whispered, and then Sonic looked at him, shaking his head slightly. 

Meanwhile, Knuckles found Rouge and Tikal walking near a large fenced area where horses were kept. Amy was feeding one of the horses a carrot, giggling when she felt the whiskers tickle her as the horse licked her hand clean. Rouge stopped, looking down at the ground. Tikal stopped beside her and they both looked at the same place. Knuckles shrugged his shoulders. 

"Hey, girls, what are you doing?" Knuckles asked them. 

"We're treasure hunting. What does it look like?" Rouge asked the echidna. 

"Treasure?" Knuckles asked, interested but doubted. "What makes you think it's here?" 

"Tails told us that there is a hidden Emerald somewhere around here." Tikal answered. 

"Yes, and everyone knows that all the world's jewels are mine to take." Rouge reminded. 

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that, bat-girl." Knuckles said, and he left to seek it. 

"We should get going." Rouge told Tikal and they both returned to the treasure hunt. 

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, Sonic and Shadow were busy replacing the flat tire of the RV. It was hard to remove but Sonic would not give up. He was no quitter but a great winner. Tails stood by to help them and he watched as Sonic finally removed the tire and they all saw the cut. 

"Man, get a load of that cut! I'm glad I'm not a tire." Sonic said, looking at it. 

"Yeah, but where's the spare?" Tails asked him. 

"I don't know, but I've got a pear." Shadow said, taking a bite of the fruit. 

"It's under the RV. I'll get it." Sonic answered, and then he rolled under it, seeking. He reached the spare tire but he had trouble removing it. "Hey, Shadow! I need a hand down here!" 

"Which one?" Shadow asked, looking down at the blue hedgehog. 

"Both of them. Now, get down here!" Sonic called him for help. 

"Oh, very well. I'm coming. Hold your horses." Shadow rolled under the RV, reaching him. He came to Sonic, right under the spear tire. He pulled to free it, but it would not move. 

"It's snug as a bug." Sonic told him, after pulling again.

"Not for long." Shadow said, pulling harder this time without giving up. But when he finally released the tire, it fell right onto the face of Sonic. "Uh-oh." Shadow whispered. 

"Shadow!" Sonic mumbled with the tire on his face. "Get this thing off!" 

"Okay, okay, calm down, Sonic." Shadow said, lifting the tire off the hedgehog's face. 

"If you were any other hedgehog, you would be very, very sorry." Sonic told him. 

"Well, I am sorry now." Shadow said, in a failed attempt to look sad. 

= = = = = 

As our hedgehog heroes began working again, the red eyes of Metal Sonic discovered them. He looked through a spyglass, searching the area and then he saw Knuckles and Rouge, treasure hunting. He closed the spyglass and placed it back in his saddlebag, which was on his horse. Yes, he was riding, believe it or not. He turned to look at Chaos, but he was not there. 

"Hey, Chaos, get up here! I found them!" Metal called, as Chaos struggled up the hill. 

"Water… water…" Chaos panted, riding his horse up the long steep hill they had climbed. 

"You are water, you crazy seal. Now listen, I found the echidna and the bat. They're looking for an Emerald down there and when it is found, we'll take it from them." 

"Sounds exciting!" Chaos said, chuckling. "I love taking candy from babies." 

Metal sighed. "How could the Doctor give me such a fool to work with?" He asked himself. 

= = = = =

"It's closer…" Knuckles whispered when he came to a certain place where the ground was hard and coated with sand. He began to dig in that area with his hands, seeking. After three tries, he stood with a green Emerald in his hand. "I found it!" He said, proudly. 

Just then, Rouge the bat flew down from climbing on a large rock. She landed on her feet in front of the red echidna. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" She asked him. 

"What are you talking about? This Emerald is mine, fair and square." Knuckles told her. He held it in his hand, closing his eyes for a moment. At that moment, as luck would have it, Metal Sonic came riding passed him and he snatched the Emerald right out from the echidna's hand. 

"What the…?" Knuckles gasped, as he watched with surprise and shock. 

"Oh, you dirty thief!" Rouge screamed at Metal. 

"Look who's calling who a thief." Knuckles murmured to himself. 

"I despise anyone who takes jewels from me!" Rouge said, "I won't give you a chance!" The bat ran and she surprised Knuckles very much as she jumped onto a horse, riding after Metal. 

"Hey, come back here with MY Emerald!" Knuckles called, jumping on a horse also.

Metal Sonic held the Emerald in his hand, riding his horse and thinking that he had victory, but Rouge changed his thoughts when she came to his side. The robot hedgehog was surprised that she had made it to him so quickly, but he was prepared for it. 

"Give up, bat! You already lost!" Metal tried to discourage her. 

"Don't count on it, chump! Now, give me back my Emerald!" Rouge demanded. 

"Your Emerald? HA!" Metal laughed, and Rouge took a chance as she reached for the Emerald. She even amazed herself when she took it from the robot with great success.

"Looks like I win, as usual." Rouge said, escaping with the jewel, leaving Metal empty-handed. She turned away from Metal but to her surprise, Chaos came riding also and he was able to steal the Emerald from her, suddenly. The villain escaped, laughing. 

"Look! I got it, Metal!" Chaos told him, but then, all the sudden, Knuckles came to his side, riding a horse and he took the Emerald with Chaos hardly noticing it. 

"My Emerald, my destiny!" Knuckles said, and he held his treasure tightly in his hand. But then again, his victory became a target for Metal Sonic. The robot gripped the jewel, but Knuckles did not let go. He fought for it. The two hands both held the Emerald, struggling for it. 

"Let go, Big Red, and I shall show mercy on your life!" Metal said, holding the jewel. 

"No, forget it!" Knuckles continued holding it, trying to pull the Emerald away. 

Metal pulled also with no signs of giving up, and so the battle began. It seemed like a never-ending war when suddenly, the Emerald slipped out from both of the fighting hands, falling to the ground. Rouge was the first to see where it fell but Chaos was close behind her. The bat was able to catch the Emerald with her rope as she rode on the horse. She pulled the Emerald up toward her but before she could reach it, Chaos took the jewel and he cut the rope with scissors. Rouge gasped with surprise as the villain turned away, escaping with the Emerald but then again, suddenly and surprising everyone there, Tikal came gliding by and she took the Emerald from Chaos. She safely landed on the ground, holding the jewel in her hand.  

"Oh no! Failed again!" Chaos said, as the rope of Rouge wrapped around him, capturing him in a snare. He fell from his horse, all tied up and unable to move. 

Rouge stopped her horse and looked down at the loser. "Not too bad, huh? I'm pretty strong all right!" Rouge let everyone know that. 

"Here, you two can keep each other company." Knuckles said, as he let the captured Metal Sonic down beside Chaos. The red echidna came to Tikal and he helped her onto the horse. "We better get back and fast. I smell a rat around here and it's with no doubt Eggman." Knuckles said. And so, the treasure hunters left together with great victory won. 

"What a fight…" Metal said, shaking his head and he watched them leave.

"Yeah, it was great. Who won?" Chaos asked, forgetting he was tied up. 

= = = = = 

On the side of the road, we find Sonic and Shadow placing the new tire on after removing the flat. Tails and Amy stood by, watching as Sonic carefully stepped back, looking at the tire. He closed one eye, looking again and then he nodded as a sign of approval. 

"Well, that takes care of that problem." Sonic said, as he brushed the dust from his arms.

"That wasn't so hard." Shadow added, standing beside him with his arms crossed. 

"Now we need to head for town and find another tire." Sonic said, while he was storing the tools away. "The RV is ready to roll back on the road again. But where are the others?" 

"The others? Well, uh…" Shadow thought, but before he could speak, they arrived. 

"We're here, Sonic!" Knuckles called, running toward him and he stopped beside the RV. Tikal and Rouge were right behind him. 

"Great! You guys are just in time. The tire is taken care of and we're ready to go now." Tails reported, and Knuckles smiled, nodding his head. 

"Hey, I hope you guys didn't get dead bored out there. We tried to hurry, you know." Sonic said, climbing into the driver's seat of the RV to drive. 

"Oh, no. Not at all, Sonic. We found some things to keep us busy." Knuckles winked his eye at the others. And so then, before the sun was gone, the team began to move on in the journey. They would reach a city soon to find a new tire, but they could possibly face something worse than a flat on the road ahead of them. Time will tell. 


	12. Operation Carwash

**Chapter 12: Operation Carwash **

The RV made it to Phoenix, Arizona, a city where anything can happen. Low on fuel, the RV made a stop to refill and Sonic stepped outside with his crew, smelling the fresh air. Yes, it was a perfect place to stop and the air agreed with them. The wind was calm and it was a warm afternoon when the Sonic crew settled down to have lunch. The RV was full again and so now, Sonic had his friends to feed. Shadow opened the food closet, seeking. 

"Oh no! We're all out of Spam already." Shadow said, while looking in the closet. 

"That's too bad." Sonic said, trying to sound upset. 

"We're saved." Rouge whispered to herself. 

"What do you suggest, Sonic?" Tails asked the blue hedgehog.  

"I'm not sure. Let's ask Knuckles." Sonic said, and then he turned around toward the sofa. He made a strange face when he saw the echidna, asleep while holding an Emerald like a teddy bear. "He's sleeping like a baby with an Emerald. Man, where's a camera when you need one?" 

"I got one." Amy whispered, reaching into her suitcase. "Here, take it." 

"Okay, I'll try to get a picture of this." Sonic whispered, and he took the camera. He aimed it toward the echidna, focused and then he shot with a flash of light. 

Suddenly, Knuckles sat up, letting out a scream of fright. Sonic and his crew all looked at him, screaming because he scared them and then they faced each other, screaming again. 

"HEY! Why are we screaming like this?" Sonic asked, breathlessly. 

"I had the most horrible nightmare!" Knuckles said, sweating and trembling while he sat on the sofa. "Oh, it was terrible!" He covered his eyes with his hands, afraid.

"It's over now, Knuckles, it's okay." Sonic told him, calmly. "You're all right now and I'm sure you're hungry, am I right or right?" Sonic asked, and then Knuckles uncovered his eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm staving!" Knuckles nodded his head, yes. "Feed me--uh… I mean, let's eat!" Just then he noticed the Emerald was down beside his shoe. He quickly took it in his hands and he hugged it. "My Emerald, I found you!" He said, happily and he smiled with his eyes closed. 

"He's back to normal." Everyone else said at the same time. 

= = = = =

The hungry Sonic crew stopped the RV and entered Burger King where they would eat lunch that afternoon. It was the right place at the right time, and so they raced there for fun. 

"Catch me if you can!" Sonic called, jumping out of the RV, laughing. 

"Come back here, you faker!" Shadow called, running after him. 

"I'm twice as hungry as you so I'm twice as fast as you!" Sonic teased him. 

"Oh, yeah?" Knuckles asked; running passed him. "I'm triple hungry!" 

"I'm powerful hungry!" Tails said, flying over and passed them all, reaching the door first. He stood in front of it, stopping the others from entering. "STOP! Hold it, guys!" 

"Ouch!" Sonic stopped and crashed onto the ground with Knuckles falling beside him. 

"OW!" The echidna yelped, after he had fallen with the blue hedgehog. 

"Yow!" Shadow said; falling down but they were unharmed. "What is this?" He asked. 

"Ladies first." Tails said, grinning at them. He opened the door for the three girls. 

"My shoes!" Sonic cried, looking at the burning red sneakers. "They're hot!" He blew on them to cool them off while Shadow fought against his laughter. He covered his grin with his hand. 

"You should get air shoes, like me, the superior hedgehog." Shadow pointed to himself. 

"No way!" Sonic stood up, ready for anything once again. "Nobody's faster than me!"

"Let's have a race and prove it." Shadow suggested, crossing his arms, daring him. 

"Okay," Sonic agreed. "Whoever eats the most burgers in three minutes, wins."  

"What?" Shadow asked confused at the kind of race it was. It was not what he expected. 

"Come on, Shadow! In you go!" Sonic pushed him inside. 

"How did I get myself into this?" Shadow asked himself before the door closed. 

The two hedgehogs sat down at a table and Knuckles stood by, holding a watch that would tell the time. Each hedgehog was given a dozen hamburgers; hot and fresh when they ordered them. Sonic looked up and faced Shadow, green eyes gazing and he grinned. 

"No matter what, you'll still lose." Shadow told him, griping a napkin. 

"I don't think so." Sonic said, taking a napkin of his own. 

"All right," Knuckles said, standing by the table. "You know the rules. Whoever eats the most in three minutes, wins. I will keep the time. Begin at the count of three, and may your minds have mercy on your stomachs." The echidna then counted, "One… two… three!" It began. 

Sonic and Shadow began eating the meal while the team cheered for them, encouraging them to keep going. Those who worked there stopped and watched with interest, having never seen anything like it before. Hedgehogs having an eating contest? Who would ever believe it? Shadow held his third hamburger, chewing carefully and seemed to have fallen into deep thought. 

"Shadow, wake up! Keep going!" Rouge shook him awake. 

Shadow blinked his eyes and began eating again, remembering when and where he was and why for that matter. They both came to the last minute and when the time was over; there remained two burgers for Shadow and one for Sonic. The blue hedgehog was the worthy winner. 

"Did you really think you had a chance?" Sonic asked the black hedgehog. 

"Of course. But soon enough, I'll show you my true speed and abilities." Shadow said and even though he lost, he shook the blue hedgehog's hand, thanking him. 

"Hey, you were close, I've got to say that. You're fast, that's for sure." Sonic said. 

"Because I'm the coolest." Shadow grinned and cleaned his mouth with a napkin. 

"We've been through that before and so let's not start that again." Sonic reminded him. 

"Well, at least that's over with." Knuckles sighed with relief. "What could possibly go wrong now?" He asked the question too soon when the door opened. Metal Sonic and Chaos stepped inside, entering while the workers ran, screaming with fear of the sight. 

"Okay, everyone, this is a stick up. Hand over the French fries!" Chaos demanded and Metal covered his eyes with his hand, shaking his head, no. 

"No, no, no, you puddle!" Metal corrected him. "Hand over the Emerald!" 

"I don't have any Emerald!" Chaos argued with him. 

"No! That's what you're suppose to say!" Metal reminded him, angry. 

"Oh, but you already said it." Chaos said, scratching his head with confusion. 

"Never mind! Let's get that hedgehog!" Metal turned to the tables but the Sonic crew vanished. They were not there anymore but all gone. "Oh no! We can't lose them again! Let's go, Chaos, and don't slip again." Metal ran for the exit and Chaos followed him. 

"Slip? Ha!" Chaos said, "I never slipped in my life." Just then, he slipped on the floor, knocking down the yellow sign, which said: _Caution. Wet floor._

"What on earth?!" Metal asked, shocked when Chaos crashed into him and pushed him outside, knocking him down to the ground. Metal sat up, furious. "I knew it! You did it again!" 

"Did what?" Chaos asked, sitting up next to the robot. Metal hit him on the head for an answer. "Ouch! That hurt!" Chaos rested a hand on his head, covering it. 

"Serves you right." Metal said, still angry and then suddenly, he saw the RV driving away. "They're escaping! Let's go! We can still catch them!" Metal took Chaos by the arm, pulling him up and then they both chased the RV, which drove toward a carwash. 

"Sonic, where are we going?" Tails asked the hedgehog who was driving. 

"Yeah, and what are you doing?" Knuckles added. 

"We're going through Operation Carwash." Sonic replied, driving onward.  

"Sounds neat, but how are we going to do that?" Amy asked, wondering how. 

"Simple. We go through the carwash." And just as Sonic finished the last word, the RV was surrounded with soap and water. The machine began cleaning it outside. Sonic and his crew watched without blinking as a huge sponge wiped the windshield, left and right, right and left again. They turned their heads, following the movements with curiosity. 

Outside the carwash, Metal and Chaos arrived and they saw the RV. "Aha! There they are, trying to hide in the carwash. The poor fools." Metal laughed, approaching it but Chaos stopped him. 

"No, we can't go in there! We'll drown!" Chaos warned him, panicking. 

"Don't be silly. No one can drown in a carwash." Metal said, entering it and Chaos followed him but he still doubted. They both reached behind the RV but before they came near it, the machine began to wash them, pushing them against the RV with sponges, water and soap all around. 

"I hate baths!" Metal yelled, trying to push the sponge away, but it was useless.  

Inside the RV, Sonic and his friends did not even hear or notice that Metal and Chaos were close by. They were watching the final touches of the carwash while listening to the song: _Escape from the city._ The RV was clean and fresh when it drove outside again, out into the road once again. The Sonic crew drove out of sight, away from the danger behind them. Metal and Chaos stepped outside of the carwash, very clean but dizzy after the unexpected event. 

"Oh no! I can hardly see. My systems are soaked!" Metal said, losing his radar because of the water, and Chaos opened his mouth to speak but only bubbles came out. 

Safely away, the RV of our great team began traveling again and now that it was clean with a new tire, no one was sure what to expect to see on the road that was strait ahead. It could be danger, and it could also be fun and the blue hedgehog thirst for adventure, as we all know, he is just a guy who loves it. With the wheels turning and engine roaring, the team traveled onward to see. 


	13. Zoo tangles

**Chapter 13: Zoo tangles **

After driving for sometime, Sonic the Hedgehog stopped the RV when he saw a city. It was a sunny morning with a nice breeze outside. Sonic turned to Tails who carried the map and he asked what city it was. Tails opened the map and searched until he found it. 

"I got it!" Tails said, pointing down at the map. "It's San Diego, so we're in California." 

"So, where's Carmen San Diego?" Knuckles asked, joking and everyone looked at him, confused. The echidna shrugged his shoulders, grinning. "Never mind. It was just a thought." 

"Funny, you've got the thoughts of a moth." Rouge said, and then she blew a bubble with her bubblegum, annoying the echidna sitting next to her. 

"Quit blowing that bubblegum. It gets on my nerves." Knuckles told her. 

The pink bubble popped and then Rouge laughed along with the other girls. Sonic and Shadow, the two hedgehogs in the front looked at each other, shrugging shoulders and then they continued driving to enter the city of San Diego. They discovered it to be a large city, having almost everything and anything you can think of. One of the great tourist places was of course, the San Diego Zoo, and the Sonic crew found themselves there that afternoon. When the RV stopped everyone stepped outside, looking toward the entrance to the Zoo. It was all Amy's idea and after she had asked Sonic possibly a dozen times or more, he finally gave up and stopped there. 

"This is so, so, so exciting!" Amy said, happily. "Let's go see the pink flamingos!" 

"Okay, we will, just hold onto your hat." Sonic said, thinking for a moment. 

"I don't have a hat." Amy said, after feeling on her head to be sure.  

"Forget it." Sonic said, crossing his arms. "We're here now, so let's go see it."

"I'm not interested." Shadow said, not moving from the RV. 

"But Shadow," Sonic said to him, "Everyone is going and we're not moving without you." 

"Yeah!" The crew said together, and Shadow only snorted. 

"I'll be fine here. You all go in without me." Shadow told them, but they refused. 

"Shadow, come with us!" They surrounded him, asking all at once. 

Shadow covered his ears. "Quiet! I'll go, just stop that stuff." He surrendered. 

"Hooray!" The Sonic crew shouted with gladness. 

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, someone else also arrived at the San Diego Zoo. It was Dr. Eggman and with him was Metal Sonic and Chaos. The mad scientist saw the RV he had been hunting for and then he saw Sonic and his crew enter the gate to the Zoo. He grinned while rubbing his hands together.  

"This will be a piece of cake." Eggman said, assured. "The hedgehog has no way out and the Emerald is with him. Now, Metal and Chaos, don't fail me and get the job right this time." 

"At least here there's no car-wash." Metal said, after hitting the side of his head to let a little water out of his ear and Chaos stood beside him, ready for orders. 

"Oh, we'll do our best, master. There's no way we can fail this time." Chaos chuckled. 

"All right then, you know the plan, so go and get that Emerald!" Eggman commanded. 

"Okay, boss." Metal said, and then he asked him, "But what are these feathers for?" He pointed to the pink feathers on the ground and then Eggman grinned. 

"That's your way in, Metal. You and Chaos will have to be flamingos." 

"No way!" Metal said; leaving but then Chaos held him there. 

"No, Metal, don't go! Where would you go anyway?" Chaos asked, holding him back. 

"I'll go find a job at a fast-food place, so I won't have to dress like a pink, stick-legged bird!" 

"But Metal, you know they'll never take you. This is our only chance!" Chaos said. 

"Yes, and it's your only choice, Metal, or I can easily deactivate you and use your parts for a new invention I've been dreaming of." Eggman said, and then the robot gave up. 

"Sometimes I wish I was a microwave." Metal said to himself, leaving with Chaos to the Zoo. 

= = = = =

When Sonic and his friends entered the Zoo, they found it to be a nice place and a good area to stop and rest after the long drive they had gone through together. The great team stopped walking when they came upon a fenced area where lamas where kept, which looked a little like camels. They chewed carefully on their hay and it was a funny thing to watch. Amy was given a small handful of food to give a white lama, which stood close to her. She reached out with her hand and the team watched as its soft lips gathered the food up and it began chewing it. Sonic laughed at the sight and then he heard a slurping sound next to him. He turned and looked, and to his surprise, he saw a lama, drinking his cup of water from his straw. The team all laughed, pointing toward Sonic who did not move while staring at the black lama, which finished the drink. 

"Hey, Sonic, are you still thirsty?" Knuckles asked, breathless from laughing. 

"No, I think I can go for a little while." Sonic said, and then he threw the cup into a wastebasket. He turned to the team and they were still laughing but then they stopped when he looked at them. The blue hedgehog shrugged his shoulders and then he began walking again. When he was turned from the team, he heard a chuckle and he quickly turned to see that it was Shadow.  

"You got something to say to me?" Sonic asked, looking into the hedgehog's eyes. 

"Yeah," Shadow said, nodding. "I learned that Zoo's aren't such a boring place after all." Then he stopped and covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing again. 

"Let's go see the flamingos now, please Sonic?" Amy begged, very excited. 

"Fine, we'll go, but watch your back, Shadow." Sonic warned, but in a friendly way. 

"I always do." Shadow said, and he winked his eyes before they began walking again. 

They soon reached a place where pink flamingos were kept in a fenced area and Amy was the first to reach it. She giggled happily and clapped her hands when she saw the birds. Her friends came to her side and they watched as the pink birds came out into the open, and the flamingos looked as if they were expecting visitors. Sonic watched for a moment and tried to avoid yawning. Then his eyes widened when he saw two pink flamingos walk passed them, walking strangely, and he did not know it but it was Metal and Chaos on stilts, covered with fathers and they held a banana for a beak. The blue hedgehog turned his head with wonder, thinking. 

"Those are the strangest flamingos I've ever seen." Sonic said, pointing. 

"Flamingos are supposed to look funny." Knuckles said, hardly noticing anything unusual. 

Amy took a few pictures with her camera and then the team walked again, continuing down the path. Chaos was having trouble keeping his balance on the stilts while Metal used his radar to learn that the Emerald was with the team, no doubt about it and it was in Rouge's purse. 

"I knew it!" Metal said, standing tall on the stilts. "I found the Emerald and it's with them. All we have to do now is follow them and approach in a stealthy way, without being known..." 

"M--Metal, catch me!" Chaos screamed and fell down from his stilts into Metal's arms. 

"You miserable soda pop!" Metal slapped Chaos on the face before dropping him.  

"Ouch!" Chaos whined, and he removed the feathers. "You gave me a headache." 

"You don't get headaches; you give them! Now, get going!" Metal commanded. 

= = = = = 

Sonic and his friends were near to the end of the Zoo tour when they came to the gorilla cage.  Amy and Tikal were taking pictures while Rouge was powdering her nose, looking at herself while using a small pocket mirror from her purple purse. Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow stood in the path together; trying to decide where they should stop the RV for the night while the girls took pictures. But it was an unknown threat that Metal and Chaos were still-hunting them down, and this time in the most unusual way. The robot hedgehog held a gorilla costume head and began placing it over Chaos who was quite nervous at the moment. 

"Hey, Metal, are you sure this thing is going to be okay?" He asked him again.   

"Of course, of course, everything is under control." Metal reassured him. "Simply look cute for a picture, sneak up to the bat and take her purse, and then bravo, we've got the Emerald." 

"Oh, that sounds pretty easy, all right. Wish me luck, Metal." Chaos said, and then he left. 

"I wish you sense for once in your pathetic life." Metal whispered to himself. 

Outside, in the gorilla cage, Chaos came walking toward the fence, so Amy and Tikal began placing more film into the camera while Rouge was looking at herself in the mirror. She screamed when a gorilla suddenly pulled her purse away, stealing it. Sonic opened his eyes when he heard the scream and then he was surprised to see a gorilla, escaping with the purse. 

"I thought I saw a robber gorilla." Sonic said, but he found it hard to believe. 

"You did!" Shadow said, "You did see a robber gorilla and it's getting away!" 

"We cannot allow that! After that hairy beast!" Knuckles ran, bravely. 

"Hey, I'm coming!" Sonic called, and he ran after the swift red echidna. 

"Right behind you, guys and I'm not enjoying the view." Shadow murmured, following. 

Knuckles jumped into the air and began gliding while the two hedgehogs jumped over the fence, running for the stolen purse. Knuckles came right to the thief and knocked him down before he safely landed on his feet, turning to see that the gorilla was in fact Chaos. The head of the costume has fallen and rolled away, so Knuckles lifted him from the ground. 

"Looks like the game is over for you, King Kong. Hand over the purse!" Knuckles demanded. 

"Yeah, give it up, Chaos!" Sonic added, coming with Shadow beside him.  

"Ah, raspberries. I was so close." Chaos shrugged and he was forced to surrender when he was tangled in a net, trapped and the team stood with victory again. Just then, to the team's surprise and shock, Metal Sonic landed on the ground, standing between them and Chaos. Knuckles stepped away with Rouge's purse, which was safe now. 

"The game is far from over and farther than the end between us, Hedgehog! We will meet again!" Metal pointed to Sonic and then he reached for Chaos to escape. 

"What a loser." Sonic shook his head after the robot disappeared from sight. He turned to his team, silently nodding his head and then they returned to the others who were waiting for them. Knuckles returned the purse to Rouge and it was unharmed. 

"Here you go, Rouge. Nothing was taken." Knuckles said, and he gave it to her. 

"Thank you." The bat said, gripping it and then she turned away to hide a smile. 

Sonic stood alone, looking up toward the gray sky and he whispered something but Amy did not hear it as she approached him. She wondered if anything was wrong and she stood by. 

"What's wrong, Sonic?" Amy asked him, trying to see his green eyes. 

Silent at first, he turned and looked at her. "It's nothing." He said, simply. "Come on, team; let's head on back to the RV because on the road, home is where you park it." The blue hedgehog led the way to the exit of the Zoo and they all safely returned to the RV. They drove on, continuing in the journey on wheels to new places. Sonic secretly faced doubts in his heart, wondering if danger was ahead of his friends and himself if they continue. But he pushed that thought aside, driving into the city where on the road, anything can happen. He wanted to see the mysteries, discover those hidden treasures and find out with a learning mind what may be waiting to be known. 


	14. Sneeze, Hedgehog

**Chapter 14: Sneeze, Hedgehog **

Down the street the RV went, round and round the wheels turned until at last, they reached a large city where tall buildings seemed to touch the sky. Sonic the Hedgehog, who was the driver, stopped the RV to refill and so the team relaxed after yet another long drive in California. Tails found the name of the city they were currently in and it was called Los Angeles. The girls were freshening up inside while Sonic was refilling the RV, and Shadow noticed the blue hedgehog had been quiet lately. It was not like Sonic, and Shadow knew that for a fact. 

"Sonic, is anything wrong?" Shadow asked him, standing close by. 

"Wrong?" Sonic asked, looking up to face him. "Nah, nothing is wrong." 

"You have been a little quiet lately, ever since we left the Zoo." Shadow said. 

"I just don't have anything to say." The blue hedgehog let out a quiet sigh. "Maybe it's the weather, you know. I don't like gray skies." He looked up to see the rain clouds above.  

"Yeah, but a friend can be sunshine in one's life." Shadow told him, gently. 

Then Sonic turned and looked at him. That hedgehog standing beside him may be dark and black, but Sonic had to admit it, he was sunshine in his life, when things were not going very well. Sonic finally smiled after what seemed like many days. "Thanks, Shadow." He whispered.  

On top of the RV, Knuckles the echidna was sitting down and watching them. He smiled and blinked his eyes. "Oh, isn't that sweet?" He asked himself but the hedgehogs heard him. 

Sonic looked up and saw the red echidna. "You stop playing spy up there!" 

"Make me." Knuckles said, grinning playfully. 

"There's no time to play games!" Shadow said, and then he suddenly jumped up high, reaching the RV's roof, landing beside the echidna. Knuckles gulped when Shadow looked down at him. 

"Hi, pal." Knuckles waved his hand, nervously at the black hedgehog.  

Just then, the girls returned and the RV was refilled, ready to go. Sonic paid the bill and then he came to the driver's seat, but Shadow was already sitting there. 

"Hey, Shadow, move over. That's my territory." Sonic reminded him.  

"No, I'm driving until you finish having a nap." Shadow said, refusing to move. 

"Naps are for cats, not hedgehogs like me." Sonic said, "Now, scram." 

"Nope, not this time. Go and rest for a while. You need some shut eye." 

"But…" Sonic tried to speak. 

"It's all settled." Shadow interrupted, and then he turned the key to drive. 

Sonic sighed and turned from the black hedgehog and then he saw a pillow and a blanket waiting for him on the sofa. He closed his green eyes, shaking his head. "I guess I have no choice." 

= = = = = 

Later that day, it began to rain after the RV took the Sonic crew around to see Los Angeles. Shadow thought it was best to find a RV park outside of the city, where they could stop and wait for the storm to pass. The road was dangerously slippery but Shadow safely drove on until he reached a park where RVs could camp with water and electric. Sonic had fallen asleep on the sofa but the thunder woke him up from a restful sleep. He felt the blanket covering him and his head on the pillow and he looked up at the window, which was next to him. Through the curtain, he could see lightning flash across the dark sky. The hedgehog breathed in a little air and then he moved to sit up but he turned onto his side instead. He never realized he was so tired. He had been hiding and fighting it for a while. He closed his eyes again, listening to the rain outside. Shadow found a quiet place in the RV Park and with some navigating help from Knuckles; he parked perfectly. The engine became silent and the wheels cooled down but outside, the rain was pouring, the lightning flashed and the thunder roared. Shadow and Knuckles had the place secured; the water and electric was for them to use in their RV, and so after that was finished, they settled down inside where it was dry. Sonic moaned quietly and tried to sit up again.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails asked him, and he came to his side. 

Sonic breathed quietly from his mouth, keeping his eyes closed. "I feel strange..." He answered, quietly and then Tails laid a hand on the hedgehog's head. It was very warm.   

"Uh-oh." Tails said, realizing it. "I think you've got a fever." 

Sonic sighed and turned his face away and then Shadow felt that the blue hedgehog's hand was cold. Yes, he was sick but Sonic, being a great hero and the world's fastest hedgehog always had trouble admitting something like that. His friends gathered to help him recover. 

"Let's take his temperature." Knuckles said, and he came with a First-Aid kit. 

"Quit playing doctor or I'll lose my temper." Sonic said, weakly. 

"Hey, chill out. Now, open up and keep this under your tongue." Knuckles instructed. 

Sonic obeyed after a moment of refusal and when the others saw his temperature, it was 102 degrees and so that was hot. 

Shadow found some medicine in a First-Aid kit while Amy poured a glass of orange juice. Sonic swallowed the pills, which would help bring his temperature down and he drank the glass of orange juice. His eyes felt watery and he closed them while he rubbed them with his hands. 

"Now, there." Knuckles said, gently petting him on the head. 

Sonic felt too weak to slap the hand away and then he smelled soup. It was Tikal's specialty and Tails helped Sonic sit up to eat the hot soup, so he would recover quicker. At first, Sonic did not want anything but when he opened his eyes and looked around, he saw all his friends looking toward him with concern, and even Shadow looked worried. Everyone was silent. Then…

"Thanks, guys." Sonic said, and he forced a smile and so the team smiled with him. 

"This calls for a story." Tails said as he watched Sonic take his first sip of the soup. 

"Now, that's a good idea." Amy agreed and then everyone looked at Shadow. 

"Do it, Shadow." Rouge requested but the black hedgehog did not understand. 

"What should I do?" Shadow asked, and then everyone but Sonic answered. 

"Tell us a story!" They all said at once and this surprised Shadow greatly. 

"No, no, no, I'm not a good storyteller." Shadow refused. 

"Yes, you are." Amy said, "We all know you can do it, Shadow. Please tell." 

"Well, I don't know…" Shadow shrugged, and then Sonic looked up at him, grinning. 

"Hey, it will make me feel better." Sonic said, still weak in his voice. 

"See, Shadow?" Rouge asked him, "You want to make Sonic better, don't you?" 

"Yes, of course, I do." Shadow replied without even thinking of saying, No. The black hedgehog sighed quietly and then he closed his eyes, thinking of something while the others waited. "Well, I do remember one that Maria read to me, but I don't quite remember all the words." 

"It doesn't matter." Tails said, "We'll hear it anyway, just tell it as you remember." 

"Fine, okay." Shadow said, and then he took a breath before he began. "This story is called Stone Soup and it goes something like this: A long time ago, three soldiers came back from war. They were tired and hungry. They had no food to eat. The soldiers went to a town, but the villagers would not share their food with the soldiers. These villagers hid their potatoes in cellars. They tucked vegetables under their beds. They even hung meat inside closets! They stuffed barley in pillowcases. All the food in the village was hidden. Then the soldiers tricked the villagers. They told them that they could make a pot of stone soup. The soldiers put water and stones in a pot. A girl zoomed over with salt and pepper. Somebody brought onions for the soup. Then came celery and carrots. After that came potatoes. The town miller brought barley. A lady brought milk. A person brought meat. The soup was rich. The soldiers and villagers had a feast fit for a king and queen. The soup was served on a table. People jumped for joy and there was so much excitement. The soup was yummy and it was extra special. After dancing and celebrating the people were ready for sleep. The night came and the soldiers were welcomed to sleep in the villagers' beds." Shadow cleared his throat quietly and then he finished it. "There, and that's the end." He crossed his arms and lay back against the chair to do some quiet thinking. 

"Wow, that was a great story. I like it." Amy said, and everyone agreed. 

"He told it pretty good too." Knuckles said, and then Shadow lifted a finger to his lips, pointing to Sonic. When the others turned and looked, they saw Sonic, sound asleep under the blanket. 

= = = = = 

It was nightfall when the rain stopped and it all ended, bringing a calm, quiet night as the sky began to clear and the stars began to be seen once again. The RV Park lost electrical power but the Sonic team was safe inside, dry and warm and they heard that the storm had passed them. Outside the park's walls, Metal Sonic and Chaos silently approached, seeking the crew's RV. 

"It's black as midnight, Metal. I can't see a thing." Chaos whispered, staying close.

"That's perfect, iceberg. If it's dark, no one will see us." The robot hedgehog said, quietly. 

"Oh, you're right. What a good plan." Chaos chuckled, quietly and covered his mouth. 

"Yeah, well, I like to use both sides of my brain." Metal said, and then he stopped walking. "Now, I'll need to look into the park from this wall." He turned to Chaos and used him as a stepladder. The robot hedgehog stood on his back and he peeked over the wall, seeking. 

"Hurry up, Metal. This really hurts." Chaos said, sweating on his face. 

Metal used his radar and then he saw the RV of the Sonic crew, quietly parked in a place away from the other vehicles in the park. "This is as good as it gets." Metal whispered, "We'll sneak into the park, to the RV and before you can say 'Eggman is my Uncle,' we've got the Emerald." The robot jumped over the wall and quietly landed on his feet, in the park now. 

"Hey, what about me?" Chaos asked from the other side of the wall, outside. 

"What about you?" Metal asked, crossing his arms and he tapped his robotic foot. 

"I can't jump very high." Chaos said, after he tried a few times but he failed each time. 

"You can climb, remember, acorn brain?" Metal reminded him. 

"Oh, yeah." Chaos remembered and so then he climbed the wall, reaching the top. He tried to climb down but he fell instead, landing right on his tail, that is, if he had one. "OW!" 

"Quiet." Metal silenced him, dragging Chaos out of sight behind some trees where they could spy on the RV and when the time was right, they would make their move. 

= = = = =

Meanwhile, Tikal stepped outside to see the stars. She could see them and felt glad to see the storm clouds moving on and away. She smiled at them and then looked down to see a lone red rose, which was opened now that the storm had passed. She saw a raindrop shine on its lovely petal like a diamond. The female echidna reached to touch it but her finger touched a sharp thorn instead and she stepped away, holding her wounded finger close. It burned and she closed her eyes to keep the tears back. She felt saddened and did not know why. 

"What's wrong, Tikal?" A voice asked and she knew it was Knuckles. Tikal turned to face him and Knuckles saw her eyes. He knew she was hurt. "What happened?" He asked, gently. 

"I tried to smell the rose." Tikal pointed toward it. "But I touched a thorn by mistake." 

"Hey, don't be so downhearted. There's no need to cry." Knuckles said and he held the wounded hand, giving the finger a kiss. "I'll get it for you, young lady." He said, and then with a few strokes of a knife, he removed the sharp thorns of the rose and then he picked it. He turned and gave the flower to Tikal who smelled it with a shy smile. It had the sweetest smell. 

"Thank you." Tikal whispered and she surprised Knuckles with a kiss on the cheek. 

"Don't mention it, Tikal. It was easy as pie…" Knuckles said, blushing. 

Then suddenly, Metal's voice was heard. "You creatures are so sickening." 

Knuckles turned around to face the enemy. "Metal!" He growled, pointing. 

"Hey, don't forget me." Chaos said, stepping into sight from behind a tree. 

"Never mind." Metal said, still facing the echidna. "Where is the hedgehog?" 

"He's feeling ill." Tikal answered, staying behind Knuckles. 

"Good, then I'll go and finish him like the coward dog he is." Metal laughed. 

Knuckles was angry at Metal for mocking his friend. "Tikal, run!" Knuckles said, and he gave her a push to safely, toward the RV. She ran back for the RV to find Shadow and Metal knew it. 

"Stop her!" Metal commanded Chaos and then the robot began to fight against Knuckles. 

Chaos ran toward Tikal and he stopped in front of her, blocking her path. "Stop, you girl." 

"No!" Tikal screamed when he tried to take her and she slapped his face. She ran while Chaos rubbed his wounded cheek. The echidna escaped, leaving Chaos shocked and surprised. 

"That hurt a lot. I never knew a female hand could hurt so much." Chaos said to himself. 

Back at the RV, Shadow lifted his eyes toward the door as it opened and in came Tikal, panting from running. Everyone stood up to hear the news. Tikal told them that Metal and Chaos were attacking Knuckles and Shadow did not even stay to hear her finish. He ran outside in the dark.

"Here I come!" Shadow said, before he vanished into the darkness, ready for combat. 

Just then, Sonic weakly sat up with his eyes half opened. "Huh? What's going on?" He asked. 

"Nothing, Sonic, just go back to sleep." Tails said, standing beside the sofa where he laid. 

"No, I thought I heard Shadow outside." Sonic said, and then he gripped Tails by the arm to support himself to stand on his feet. "I gotta go find him. I smell trouble." 

"But Sonic…" Tails tried to stop him but Sonic was gone before anyone could stop him.

= = = = = 

Outside, Metal Sonic threw Knuckles and the red echidna crashed against a tree, fell to the ground and he felt pain in his shoulder. Before Metal could attack again, a hand gripped his arm, pulling it away from Knuckles. The robot looked and faced Shadow the Hedgehog. Metal began to fight with Shadow while Knuckles climbed back onto his feet to stand again. He froze when he heard Chaos, hissing behind him. He gulped and slowly turned around to face him. Chaos moved to attack, but then the voice of Sonic stopped him from doing any harm to the trapped echidna. 

"Hold it right there, puddle trouble!" Sonic said, pointing toward him. 

Chaos turned and stepped toward the blue hedgehog with anger. But before any of the two could attack each other, Sonic suddenly sneezed twice. He sniffed and rubbed his watery eyes. 

"Bless you." Chaos said, after the hedgehog sneezed. 

"Thanks, I--Hey you!" Sonic said, angry with the enemy. 

Then suddenly, Chaos sniffed and felt strange. Before he could move, he sneezed and with such a force that he fell backwards, crashing into Metal and both of them flew right out of the RV Park, through the gate and into the street. They landed on the hood of a police portal car. 

"Whoa!" The Sonic team all said it together, watching with surprise. 

The police officer inside the portal car that was eating a big powdered doughnut was unharmed, but he stepped outside to write down a ticket for the two speeding, going the wrong way on a one way street, destruction of police property and last but not least, wearing Halloween costumes out of season because no one saw a Metal Sonic and Chaos everyday. Again, the Sonic crew was safe as they left the area to find a place more calm and peaceful. The stars seemed to follow them. 


	15. Freeway

**Chapter 15: Freeway **

It was early in the morning when Sonic the Hedgehog opened his green eyes, sleepily. It was a bump on the road that woke him up from his sleep. He was having a nightmare anyway, so he was not very upset. The RV was moving and so he knew that Shadow was driving. He slightly sat up on the sofa with the green blanket still covering him and he looked outside the window. It was dark with fog outside. He heard no sound or saw other cars on the street where they were. 

"Spooky." Sonic whispered to himself. He weakly stood up and made his way to the front where Shadow was alone, driving. The blue hedgehog laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

"Sonic, are you feeling better?" Shadow asked when he saw that it was him, awake. 

"Sure, I'm cool. It takes more than a fever to get me down." Sonic winked his eye. 

"So I've noticed. You're more than just a hedgehog." He said the last few words in a whisper. 

Sonic sat down in the passenger seat, next to the driver and he saw the road ahead. He could hardly see anything but the headlights gave him sight. Then he turned to his friend. "Shadow, is everyone else asleep? Were you driving in this fog alone?"  

"Well, Knuckles was awake for a while but he had to go rest early this morning. I wanted to keep going and find a good place to stop and avoid this creepy fog. But it's everywhere." 

"You tired? Do you need to sleep?" Sonic asked him. 

"No, I'm fine." Shadow answered before Sonic could even finish the question. He turned and looked at Sonic but then he faced the road again when he saw that Sonic was looking at him. "But you are feeling better, right?" Shadow asked, "Is the fever gone now?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you guys." Sonic replied, quietly. He saw Shadow fight against a smile of gladness but it won and appeared on his face. "Hey, you should smile more often." 

"What?" Shadow asked, trying to hide the smile. He felt like he was talking to a brother. 

"I said you should smile more than you do." Sonic replied, grinning at him. 

"When there's a reason." Shadow whispered after quietly clearing his throat. 

"Well, for everything there is a season. But where are we now?" Sonic asked. 

"On a freeway, heading for San Francisco, but these crazy roads screwed my mind, so we're going to be there later than I thought. Out here, away from the city, anything can happen." Then suddenly, the unexpected was seen on the freeway. Sonic saw it first and he warned him. 

"Shadow, STOP!" Sonic gasped, and the black hedgehog slammed on the breaks, stopping. He stopped so suddenly that everyone who was in bed fell out and onto the floor of the RV. 

Knuckles had the worst shock as he fell from his bed, which was right above the front seats. "HELP! I'm falling!" Knuckles gasped, hanging on and the hedgehogs turned with surprise. 

"What on earth is going on up there?! You're going to get us all killed!" Rouge screamed. 

"Enough! Calm down!" Shadow said, and he stood up from the chair. 

"There's something out there!" Sonic said, pointing toward the road in their path. 

"What is it, Sonic? Another turtle?" Tails asked, sleepily and rubbed his eyes awake. 

"No, it looks bigger, and I think I know what it is." Sonic said, sadly and then he opened the door with a flashlight in his hand. His feet touched the street and it was quiet outside. 

Shadow jumped out and came to his side. "I didn't hit anything. What did you see?" Shadow asked, and Sonic looked around until he found it. Shadow looked down and he saw it also. 

"Oh no." Sonic whispered when he saw that it was a female deer, killed on the road. He closed his eyes, sighing. "This is awful. I wish we were here to stop it. But we're too late."

"It looks like it happened recently." Shadow said, sadly looking away from the body. Then everyone else came outside, wondering what the two hedgehogs were looking at. 

Amy wiped a tear from her cheek, sniffing. "Sonic, can't we take her to a doctor?" 

"No, Amy, we can't. There's nothing we can do." Sonic answered, quietly. 

"Sonic, come here, quickly!" Tails called who was standing with Rouge and Tikal. 

Sonic ran to Tails and he stopped to see Tikal, stroking a baby deer, a little spotted fawn, which was sleeping in the grass beside the road. "He's an orphan now." Sonic sighed.

"It's a she, not a he." Tikal corrected him and Rouge wrapped the fawn with a warm blanket. She felt it shivering, cold and weak. Sonic saw its dark eyes slightly open and it looked right at him. 

Shadow came and stood beside Sonic after he had helped Knuckles remove the female deer's body off the road. He saw the fawn and then he knew that the deer was a mother and they also now had a young orphan. "Well, I never expected to find this on the road." He said. 

"I think she's sweet!" Amy said, happy to see that the cute fawn was alive.

"Yeah," Knuckles said, "It looks cute for a deer." He gently touched its face and then it nipped his hand. "Ouch! It has defense systems too, very dangerous for its small size." 

"What are you talking about?" Rouge said, "She's just hungry, that's all." 

"She thinks we are her mother. She wants us to feed her." Tikal said, smiling. 

Shadow was at a loss and he turned to Sonic. "We're not going to do it, are we?" 

"It's the only thing we can do." Sonic said, shrugging. "We can't just leave her here." 

"Then she stays with us!" The girls said together, happily. 

"Okay, calm down now and let's get inside so we can clear the road for others." Shadow said, and then he walked toward the driver's side door. The others followed and Rouge carefully carried the baby deer inside. They all welcomed the fawn in as another team member. 

"What should we call her?" Tikal asked, stroking the little fawn's face. 

"Fireball." Knuckles suggested but everyone shook their heads, No. 

"How about… uh… Bambi?" Tails asked, but everyone pointed their thumbs down. 

"Princess!" Amy said for a name, but everyone else disagreed. That was not it. 

"Rudolph would be nice." Rouge thought, but still, it was No for an answer.  

"Maybe Weather is her name." Tikal wondered but it did not fit. 

"Name her Foggy." Shadow said, driving up front but everyone said, "No!" 

"Okay, then you name her, Sonic." Rouge said, and then she gave the fawn to Sonic, wrapped in a soft blanket. Sonic had no choice and he held the helpless baby deer in his arms. 

"Well, I'm not sure… I'm not very good with names and all…" He closed his eyes, thinking. He opened his eyes when he felt the fawn snuggle up closer to his chest to keep warm. He smiled, looking down at it and then the name finally came to him. "Her name is Freeway." Sonic said, and when everyone heard it, they all agreed. It was the perfect name for the fawn. 

"Welcome aboard, Freeway." Sonic whispered to the fawn as it fell asleep in his arms. 

= = = = = 

When the sun began to shine and send the fog away, the team found themselves in the city of San Francisco. It brought back memories and they stopped at a store to find goat milk and a baby bottle for Freeway the fawn. She rested weakly in the arms of Sonic and her eyes showed signs of sickness. Sonic began to worry about the fawn, but he did not quite understand how or why. He hardly knew Freeway but the team cared about her. Sonic gently stroked the fawn's face. 

"Hang on, Freeway. It won't be long. You'll get your breakfast." He said, gently. 

Freeway closed her dark eyes, resting against his chest to keep warm. She stopped shivering but she needed milk to gain her strength back and soon. She was only a few days old now. 

"Sonic, we're back!" Tails called from outside the RV, carrying a brown paper bag. Amy and the other girls followed Tails to the RV and Shadow saw them coming from the driver seat while Knuckles opened the door for them. Tails stepped inside followed by the girls. 

"Did you find it?" Sonic asked, still holding the little fawn in his arms. 

"Yeah, we got everything." Tails replied, and he gave the bag to Tikal. 

"I'll just warm up the goat milk and breakfast will be served." Tikal said, and she began. When it was warm, she tested it and then she gave the bottle to Sonic. 

"You want me to feed her? How come?" Sonic asked her, surprised. 

"Well, she seems to like you, so you have the best chance of feeding her than us." Tikal said, and then Sonic took the baby bottle, holding it in his hand and looked down at the fawn. 

"Okay, Freeway, wake up. It's your breakfast, look." Sonic said, softly and then fawn slightly opened its eyes when the bottle's mouth touched hers. She smelled the nipple but then she turned her face away without drinking anything. "Oh, Freeway, please eat." Sonic whispered. 

"Maybe she misses her mom." Amy said, sadly and quietly. 

"Yeah." Sonic realized, but he kept trying. He made the milk drip on his finger and then he gently placed his finger into the fawn's mouth, so she could taste the milk. Freeway opened her eyes, wider than before and she licked his finger clean, doing the same for her mouth. 

"Look at that. She drank it." Rouge whispered and everyone smiled, glad to see it. 

Sonic tried it again and Freeway licked every drop clean. She sniffed his finger, seeking for more and then Sonic gave her the bottle's nipple again. Freeway caught a drop of milk from the bottle's mouth and then she surprised everyone there as she began drinking the milk, hungrily. 

"Well, look at that. She eats like you, Sonic." Knuckles teased, grinning. 

Sonic slapped the echidna's face, not hard but enough for him to get the idea that hedgehogs do not like echidna jokes. Freeway looked up from drinking and she watched Knuckles. 

"Ouch!" Knuckles yelped. "I can't see! I can't see!" 

"What's the matter?" Sonic asked, a little concerned. 

"I got my eyes closed." Knuckles joked again, laughing. 

At first, Sonic was angry but then Freeway made a cute chuckling sound and it was the first time anyone heard her make any noise. "Hey, she thinks we're funny!" Sonic said. 

"I wonder why…" Shadow whispered, turning away to fight his laughter. 

And so, together, the Sonic team enjoyed having breakfast that morning and Freeway drank her fill. She became stronger after a good meal and her eyes became brightly healthy again. All it took was tender care and special handling. After that, the team began to explore San Francisco. 

= = = = = 

The RV stopped near a park where trees were green and beautiful. Shadow stopped there to let everyone step outside and rest for a while. They opened the door and the team came outside, smelling the fresh air of the lovely park. Sonic stepped outside last, holding Freeway and he gently let her down to stretch her legs. She was trembling in her legs at first but after a moment of failure; she began walking very well. She followed the Sonic team like a little shadow. 

"Let's go, Freeway." Sonic called and waved his hand. The fawn followed him into the park and she stopped now and then to smell the grass, watch a snail or listen to a bird sing a song. Then suddenly, Sonic froze in his tracks. He sniffed the air. "Chilidogs!" He said, and then he ran to follow his nose while Freeway blinked her eyes, watching him disappear in a flash. 

"Don't mind him, Freeway…" Amy told the fawn. "He's always like that."

"Yeah, that's boys for you." Rouge said, after a sigh and she crossed her arms. 

Freeway hardly heard the words when she saw a yellow butterfly. It stopped to rest on a flower but the wet nose of a young deer frightened it enough to fly again. Freeway followed it to the next flower and the next until the butterfly flew away, over a log. Freeway tried to jump over it, but she fell backwards on her side. Shadow came running to her and he lifted her from the ground. 

"Why do you have to be so troublesome?" Shadow asked, unhappy in his voice. 

Freeway nuzzled his leg with her nose and then rubbed her cheek against it, making the hedgehog smile but then he forced it to vanish. "Don't try to soften me up." He said. But when he looked down at the fawn, he saw her eyes blinking at him and he was almost positive that he saw her smile. He sighed and forgot the trouble. "Well, I guess there's no harm done." He knelt down and stroked her head, gently with his hand and then he led her back to the others.

= = = = = 

But in that same park, Dr. Eggman, after a search, finally found the Sonic team, relaxing in the park together. He looked around, using his spyglass and he saw that they were all there. 

"This is great! They're all there and just waiting for us to strike." Eggman said, and then he turned to Metal Sonic and Chaos. "You two, take the Emerald from the bat and hand it to me! Is that difficult?" He asked, causing Metal and Chaos to tremble. 

"No, it's not difficult, boss. We'll fetch it, all right." Metal answered. 

"Yeah, we'll need it to sell so we can pay this police ticket." Chaos said, holding it in his hand but then Eggman snatched it away and tore it in pieces. 

"Don't be so wimpy like those heroes out there." Eggman pointed to the Sonic team. "I want that Emerald in my hands and the hedgehog out of my life forever!" 

"Then call ABC Pest Control." Metal said, quietly. 

"What did you say?" Eggman asked, turning to the robot. 

"I said we must go and get those pest." Metal said, and then he began to walk with Chaos following him. From tree to tree, they made their way toward the team, being sneaky. 

Meanwhile, the girls rested on a picnic blanket, on the green grass under the shade of trees as they watched the boys play basketball. Freeway watched while resting next to Amy as Sonic reached the basket again and the ball went through to win another score. The ball fell to the ground and it rolled until Chaos stepped on it with his foot, stopping it from rolling any further. 

"Oh, boy! I love soccer!" Chaos said, and then Metal hit him on the head, angry. 

"That's a basketball, you goof!" Metal scolded, and then he turned to face Sonic. "And now, you pesky heroes, hand over the Emerald and surrender!"   

"And if we refuse?" Sonic asked, standing ready to fight. 

"Refuse?" Metal and Chaos both asked at the same time. "Well, uh… if you refuse…" 

"I'll blow you to Alaska!" A voice said behind the Sonic team. They turned to face…

"Dr. Eggman!" Knuckles said the mad scientist's name, staring at him. 

"Surrender, hedgehog!" Eggman demanded, pointing his laser weapon toward him.  

"I'll consider it, enormous chump, but for now, have a pie!" Sonic said, and then he threw a pie from the picnic basket and it flew toward Eggman, hitting him on the face. 

When the villain cleaned his face, his targets were gone. He would rather lose a battle than be humiliated in a way that would be unforgettable. "That is unforgivable!" Eggman growled with anger and then he turned to face Metal and Chaos who were still trying to think of an answer to the question earlier. "He called me chump!" Eggman said, angrily. "You disappoint me, Metal!" He pointed toward the robot hedgehog, which was trembling. 

Metal could not take it and so he fell back and fainted but Chaos caught him to break his fall. The RV in the meantime made a safe escape. They were on the road again. 


	16. Hollywood havoc

**Chapter 16: Hollywood havoc **

Somehow and someway, the RV entered Hollywood. Sonic and his friends were still in California and there was so much to see there. It was a sunny afternoon when they arrived and everyone was wearing a pair of sunglasses. Sonic, now with his health restored, took the wheel as the driver. 

"This is it, guys! Hollywood, California. What do you think?" Sonic asked his friends. 

"It's bigger than I thought it would be." Shadow said from the passenger seat. 

"Well, it is where movies are made, so it should be interesting." Tails said. 

"It's exciting and neat, like me!" Amy said, cheerfully. 

"It is a place to visit but not a place to live." Tikal added. 

"But it could be the chance of a lifetime." Knuckles told her. 

"It's crowded." Rouge said, simply. 

Sonic smiled and he turned to see Freeway, asleep on the sofa. It was her naptime but it took him and the crew a while to get her to sleep. It was a relief and when she wakes up, she will be hungry again. The blue hedgehog returned to driving the RV, into Hollywood. They stopped to see a limousine slowly drive passed them and it entered a gate to a large building. 

"That's awesome!" Tails said, excited in his voice. "It must be movie stars." 

"I'm better than any of them with my grace and talents." Rouge said, proudly. 

"Huh? What? You're an actress?" Knuckles asked her, surprised. 

"It's all too easy for me." Rouge answered, and she winked her eye at him.

Sonic and Shadow both lowered their sunglasses down slightly, peeking with wonder. They faced each other and grinned and then they placed their sunglasses back on, shading their eyes. They continued driving and then they stopped to see the mountain with the white words: _'HOLLYWOOD' high above. Sonic removed his sunglasses to see it clearly. _

"That's amazing to see, but somehow, it's making me thirsty." Sonic said. 

"Oh, I'll find you a soda to drink." Amy opened the icebox, but none was found. "What's going on?" Amy asked, "What happened to all the sodas? There's not even orange juice in here!" 

Everyone else looked at each other, wondering who did such a thing. Shadow opened his mouth to say something but he hiccupped instead, greatly surprising everyone there. He covered his mouth with both of his hands before another hiccup could escape. Then there was no doubt. 

"Aha! Shadow!" Sonic said, pointing to him with a finger. "You're guilty!" 

"Who? Me?" Shadow asked with a hiccup. He never had them before. He held his mouth again and turned to face Sonic. "What's wrong with me?" He asked, quietly. 

"You've got the hiccups because you drank the sodas." Sonic replied. "You'll have to drink water and hold your breath to make them stop. Tails, water on the house!" Sonic requested. 

"Coming right up!" Tails said, and he took a cup, filled it with water and then he gave it to Sonic. 

"Thanks, pal." Sonic said, and he took the glass of water. Then he turned to Shadow who was still covering his mouth with his hands. "Here, now take this and drink it." Sonic instructed. 

"Okay." Shadow hiccupped, and he took the glass cup. He drank a mouth full. 

"Hold your breath." Sonic told him and Shadow did so with the water still in his mouth. Sonic sat back and waited, and he secretly enjoyed watching him for a moment. He looked so pathetic. 

"Uh, he's turning blue, Sonic." Knuckles said, pointing to the black hedgehog. 

"Really? That's good." Sonic thought but then he suddenly realized the facts. "Uh-oh! Shadow, swallow it nice and easy, and then breathe again." 

With a gulp, the water went down and Shadow breathed for air. It was a relief, indeed. The others watched, wondering if he could hiccup again or not. It was uncertain, no one knew the results until Shadow slowly let his hands down from his mouth and he breathed easily. He waited for a moment and when nothing happened, he sighed with relief. "Thanks, Sonic." 

"Cool. I'll send you my bill." Sonic grinned, and then he continued driving after that event.

= = = = = 

The RV, nearly empty stopped so Sonic could refill it. The girls went shopping inside the building for supplies they all needed for the journey. The blue hedgehog stood beside the RV while refilling it when suddenly, he felt something soft and warm press against his leg. He gasped with surprise and looked down. He smiled when he saw that it was only Freeway the fawn. 

"Oh, it's you. I guess you're hungry, huh?" Sonic asked her, and she nodded her head, yes. "Well, I have to finish up here, but maybe your Uncle Shadow will feed you." He said. 

Freeway blinked her eyes and looked toward Knuckles and Shadow who were washing the windshield. There was dust and sand on the RV, so it needed a little washing. 

"Yeah, he's the black one with an attitude. Go for it." Sonic told the baby deer. 

Freeway approached them carefully and she stopped next to Shadow. She stood and watched a bubble from the soapy water bucket come toward her. Freeway rolled her eyes, trying to follow it until it popped on her head. Surprised, she shook her head with her eyes closed. 

"Freeway, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked when he saw her beside him. The fawn opened her mouth, letting out a cute squeak. 

"She's hungry again." Knuckles said, "It's up to you now, Shadow." 

"Me? But I don't feel like a mother." Shadow blushed. 

"Then be a father and get to it. You know where the bottle is, so scram." The echidna said. 

"Ah, nuts." Shadow murmured, and then he carried Freeway inside the RV to feed her. The black hedgehog sat down on the sofa after he found the baby bottle and he held Freeway on his lap. "Okay, kid, drink to your health." Shadow said, and he offered the bottle to her, which she gladly took and began to drink the warm goat milk. Shadow's eyes widen when he saw how fast she could drink. She was very hungry, no doubt about that when one would see her then. 

Outside, Tails finished cleaning the back windows of the RV and then he came to Sonic who finished refilling. "Hey, Sonic, the windows are clean now. Anything else?" He asked. 

"No, that'll do. Thanks, Tails." Sonic said, "Come on, buddy. I'll buy you an ice cream." 

"Hooray!" Tails cheered and he followed him into the store where Sonic had to pay the bill. 

But outside, Knuckles was unaware that he was being watched and stalked. Metal Sonic and Chaos finally found the RV they had been looking for after searching for sometime. They saw Knuckles cleaning the windshield with a sponge, whistling. It was the perfect time to strike but they wanted to trick him first. Chaos took the bucket of clean water and replaced it with a bucket of muddy water. He chuckled, hiding behind the RV with Metal and they waited. Knuckles saw that the sponge was dry again so he reached down for more water. But it was not clean. 

"Good heavens! How did THIS happen?!" Knuckles asked, having no idea. 

"It was us!" Chaos said from behind the echidna. 

Knuckles turned around, dropping the dirty sponge. "YOU!" He gasped. 

"Yeah, we're back! So, what do you want on your tombstone?" Metal asked him. 

"YIKES!" Knuckles screamed, jumping over a dangerous laser, which almost shot him. Before the enemies could attack him, Knuckles dug underground with his hands, vanishing. 

"Get him, you water bottle!" Metal commanded and gave Chaos a kick. 

"OW! Don't rush me." Chaos said, and then he leaped into the air, turned and then landed on the ground but he forgot to use his hands to dig, so he hit his head instead. "Ouch! My head!" 

"Oh, MY head!" Metal said, holding it. "You have to dig underground, you nut!" 

"I knew that. But I was dreaming of the beach with dolphins and jellyfish." Chaos said, and then he tried again, miraculously doing it right and he disappeared in the earth.  

Suddenly, Knuckles popped out from the ground but he was in the middle of a street. He screamed with his eyes growing wide when he saw a car coming for him. He quickly dived back in the ground to safety and it was dark again. He came out again in another place but it was not a street that time. He carefully peeked out, looking around but behind him, Chaos was doing the same thing, looking for him. They turned until they met each other, face to face. Terrified and shocked, they both screamed and dived back down, each one into their own hole underground. They continued coming up and going down, reusing holes they had dug in the ground around that area. The speed of this increased in an amazing way and at a surprising rate that it was soon hard to tell who was what and what was who. If Metal Sonic had a hat, he would have eaten it then. 

= = = = = 

After paying the bill, Sonic the Hedgehog stepped outside with Tails who was eating his reward of ice cream for working on the RV. When they returned to the RV, they wondered where Knuckles had gone, leaving the bucket of water and a dirty sponge in front of the RV. 

"That's not like him." Sonic said, looking down at the sight. "He finishes his job."  

"And I have a job of my own to finish!" The voice of Eggman said, behind him. 

Sonic and Tails turned around, only to face and see the villain. "It's you, Eggman!" Sonic pointed toward him and he wondered if Knuckles was in trouble, and where was Shadow? 

"Yes," Eggman said, from the huge black truck. "And now, you're doomed!" After that was said, the truck began to move, driving toward the RV. "I'll destroy it with one blow!" He laughed. 

"NO!" Sonic cried, and he ran toward the truck, shocking Tails who dropped his ice cream. "It's me you're after, Eggman! Chase me down, unless you're chicken!" Sonic challenged. 

"Why, you little pest! I'll grind you into a hog-dog!" Eggman yelled and he turned the monstrous truck toward Sonic who was making funny faces at him. 

The hedgehog ran with the truck following him, dangerously. They disappeared down the street with dust behind the truck. Sonic ran without looking back, knowing that he was the RV's only hope. He heard the engine of his foe's truck roaring like a monster behind him, coming closer and closer. 

"Man, talk about a close shave!" Sonic gasped, after he avoided a laser attack. 

Sonic ran again, faster and he felt as if he had wings on his feet. He believed that he could fly. He ran with his feet hardly touching the ground until at last and suddenly, he came to wet cement, in the process of pouring but there was nowhere to turn. He could only go forward. 

"To go back is nothing but death, to go forward is the fear of death, but I will go forward!" The brave blue hedgehog said the words, and then he jumped high into the air, over the working cement truck, disappearing from sight. 

Eggman saw the dead end and he hit the breaks to stop. He avoided the other truck but he stopped in the wet cement, which caught him. "I may lose the game but I haven't lost that hedgehog yet!" The villain said, growling and he escaped in his ship, which was kept in the back of the truck. "I always have a backup plan. But where are those two failures?" He asked, looking around and wondered where they were. 

"I'm coming, master! And I've got the echidna for you!" Chaos said, running toward him and carrying a large sack with something fighting inside it. 

"Oh, this is good!" Eggman said, feeling relief that something was accomplished. 

Chaos opened the sack and he was shocked to see not Knuckles, but Metal Sonic fall to the ground. "Oops! I must've grabbed the wrong one." 

Metal stood up, facing Chaos with his glowing red eyes, angrily. "I'll boil you up!" The robot yelled and he began to chase Chaos around and around Eggman's ship, in circles.   

"Stop this foolishness, now!" Eggman commanded. "We must leave before the cops arrive!" And so, the villains escaped but Sonic was nowhere to be seen or found. He vanished from sight.  

= = = = = 

Returning to the team and the RV, the girls came back with the needed supplies but they heard what happened from Knuckles and Tails who stood outside the RV, waiting for Sonic to return. The team all turned toward the street where Sonic was last seen, wondering…

"Where could he possibly be?" Tails asked the question that everyone wanted answered. 

Silent and worried, the team continued looking toward the street, hoping to see Sonic or a sign that he was sure to come back safely. It was hard not to doubt at that moment, but then…

"What are you guys staring at?" A familiar voice asked from behind them. 

The team turned, surprised and glad to see the blue hedgehog. "SONIC!" They shouted, and before Sonic could guess, he was surrounded with hugs from his friends. 

"Okay, okay, break it up! Shall we go?" Sonic asked and he freed himself. He walked toward the RV with the others following. He opened the door and stepped inside but then he froze with total and complete surprise. There on the sofa, Shadow laid flopped down with the baby Freeway asleep on his chest. He was worn out after feeding and playing with the baby deer. 

Sonic had to run outside and laugh out loud. They soon left the area, leaving Hollywood for movie stars and they traveled on the road to see what else may be waiting out there. 


	17. The Great Outdoors

**Chapter 17: The Great Outdoors **

It was after a few days of driving when the RV of the Sonic team came to a place where there was no city but tall trees all around with a beautiful lake and a great view of Oregon. Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog were both tired from driving and the team also look forward to a place to stop and rest. So, it came to be that the RV stopped in the forest and they began to set up camp there. The sun was shining that afternoon and the birds were heard cheerfully singing lovely songs. The trees were tall and green, the flowers were colorful and the air was fresh. 

"And don't forget the bugs!" Sonic said, and he slapped another mosquito off.  

Yes, it was the great outdoors but the team came prepared. They had a campfire place ready but the tents waited to be cared for. Sonic stopped next to Tails who was carrying one of them. 

"Hey, Tails, you ready to get this tent up and ready?" Sonic asked him, smiling. 

"Yeah, you bet I am!" Tails said, excited. "This is the last one, but where's Shadow?" 

"Serious business." Sonic replied, and then he pointed toward the black hedgehog that was trying to get Freeway to sleep and have her nap but she always wanted to play. 

"Then where is Knuckles?" Tails asked, turning back to his friend Sonic. 

"Oh, him? He's out fishing for some dinner." Sonic pointed toward the lake. 

"Okay, then that leaves just you and me, just like old times." Tails grinned. 

"Hey, buddy, don't make me feel older than I am." Sonic said, quietly. Then together, Sonic and Tails began to build the tent and soon, it stood firm on the ground near the campfire. 

"Should I go in and try it, Sonic?" Tails asked, after Sonic finished hammering the last nail. 

"Sure, Tails, you go on in and check it out for me." Sonic answered, standing up. He watched Tails enter the tent but as soon as he did, the tent collapsed. "Tails!" Sonic called. 

"I'm okay." Tails crawled outside, unharmed and he looked back. "What happened?" 

"Well, I think mice chewed on the ropes again." Sonic thought when he saw the weak ropes. "I'll go find the spare ropes in the RV and be back in a flash." Sonic said, and then he ran. 

Meanwhile, Shadow carefully stood up and very quietly tip toped away from the baby deer Freeway who was finally asleep. "At last." Shadow whispered, but then he stepped on a small twig, snapping it. He turned and looked at Freeway and she moved slightly. Shadow's face began to sweat as he stood and did not dare to move an inch. Then finally, Freeway continued sleeping in the basket, peacefully. She did not wake up as Shadow expected. "Whew." He sighed with great relief. He found Sonic and Tails, rebuilding the tent and he helped them there while Tikal and Amy were cutting vegetables for the dinner they were preparing for the evening. 

= = = = = 

Leaving Sonic with the tent for now, we will travel to the lake, where Knuckles and Rouge were both fishing in a boat. They both sat down, waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting... 

"We've been out here forever and we still haven't got a bite." Rouge sighed. 

Knuckles looked at his bait again but it was not even touched. He gave it another try, casting the fishhook back into the water and then he sat down again. "Fishing takes time." He reminded the white bat. "Sooner or later, we'll catch something. Just wait and see." 

Rouge only sighed again, quietly this time and she stared down at the water until her eyes closed. But under water, right under their boat, Knuckles and Rouge did not know the fact that their hooks found each other. The two fishhooks locked onto each other, making the two fishers think they caught something. Knuckles felt it first and he grew excited. Rouge felt the same. 

"Hey, I think I caught something big!" Rouge said, gripping the fishing rod tighter. 

"So did I and it's huge!" Knuckles said, not knowing it was Rouge all along. 

Knuckles pulled and then Rouge gasped as she almost fell into the water, but she quickly steadied herself and then pulled, which only made the red echidna yelp and he almost fell but he gripped onto the boat, breaking his fall in time. Knuckles tried again, harder this time. 

"This is one stubborn fish, but I'll give it all I got!" The echidna pulled and pulled. 

Then suddenly, from behind him, he heard Rouge scream and then a splash followed. He stopped pulling and turned around. She was not there. Only her fishing rod remained. 

"Huh? Rouge?" Knuckles called but there was no answer. He came to the side of the boat and he looked down at the water. Just then, Rouge came up from under water and she coughed, breathing for air while she swam. The sight made Knuckles surprised and very confused. 

"Rouge, how did you get in there?" Knuckles asked her. 

"YOU!" Rouge screamed, and she splashed cold water on his face, angry.  

Knuckles blinked his eyes and then he took the bat by the hand, pulling her out of the lake. She was soak and wet with water. Knuckles hurried and found a dry towel for her. He wrapped it around her shoulders so she could dry herself. Rouge was still upset and she pushed the echidna into the water. He screamed and fell in with a splash while Rouge sat down to dry herself. Knuckles climbed back into the boat, soak and wet. He shook a little water off himself and then he showed the fishing rod to the bat. He found it while he was under the water. 

"Here, Rouge, I found your fishing rod in the lake, and I'm… I'm sorry if I hurt you." 

Rouge opened her eyes when she heard him speaking and then she saw the fishing rod. It was hers but when she saw the hook, it was locked onto the other, which belonged to Knuckles. When the echidna heard that she was quiet, he felt awful. He thought she would never forgive him. He closed his eyes, sadly. But then he heard Rouge, laughing. He opened his eyes and he saw her pointing toward the fishing rod, which he held. He looked down and saw the two fishhooks. Rouge laughed harder and then Knuckles grinned until he finally laughed also. 

= = = = = 

Back to the camp in the woods, we see that Sonic, Tails and Shadow were finished with the tent. It stood strong this time and did not fall. They shook hands after doing a good job and great work. It took a little teamwork but that can go a long way as they found out together. It was a wonderful thing to see a job well done, to see it complete because the work of their own hands. 

"Yeah, great work, guys. But I wonder when dinner will be ready?" Sonic wondered. 

"I don't know." Tails shrugged. "Amy and Tikal are picking berries, Knuckles and Rouge are still out there, fishing. So, maybe sometime soon."  

"Yeah, I guess I can hold on for a while. But for now, let's go see if Freeway is all right." Sonic led the way to the small basket, but to his surprise, Freeway was gone. 

"Freeway!" Sonic, Tails and Shadow called her name, all at the same time. 

"Where did she go?" Tails asked, looking down at the empty basket. 

"She was right here, sound asleep." Shadow said, pointing to it. 

Sonic lifted the blanket and he looked. "Freeway?" He called but she was not there. He even looked under the basket. She was nowhere to be found and Sonic began to worry. He turned to Shadow and Tails who were searching around the camp. "Guys, she's missing. We've got to find her and fast. There's no way poor little Freeway can survive out here alone." 

"That's for sure." Tails agreed, and then he asked him, "Where should we start?" 

Before Sonic could tell them his plan, a little squeak was heard behind the tent. They all three ran there, and then they saw Freeway, walking toward them but something was not right. Her shoulder and chest was slightly wet from something and it carried a terrible odor. The smell was undoubtedly a skunk. Sonic, Tails and Shadow covered their noses, coughing. 

"Goodnight, what a stink!" Sonic said, backing away as the fawn came toward them. 

"Oh no! It must've been a skunk!" Tails guessed and he was clearly correct. 

"What a disgrace! We must find tomato sauce, right away!" Shadow coughed. 

Sonic ran toward the picnic table where Amy and Tikal were preparing a pot for cooking. Sonic stopped beside the table, breathing clean air while he could. "Gals, pardon me, but I need this. It's a big time emergency!" He said, and then he took the can of tomato sauce from the table. He ran before any of them could speak. 

"Oh, that's great! Really great! Now how do they expect us to cook anything?" Amy asked. 

"It's a good thing we found a lot of berries." Tikal sighed.  

Inside the RV shower, Shadow was armed with a mask and gloves as he bravely stepped inside to wash Freeway with the tomato sauce. It was a noble task and he took it. He poured the red tomato sauce all over the baby deer to clean her from the skunk odor. Freeway shook her body like a wet dog and the sauce splashed onto Shadow. He closed his eyes and tried to shield himself but he was speckled with red dots. Outside, Sonic and Tails waited and wondered how it was going. 

"HEY! Ouch! Look out! That's my ear!" They heard Shadow scream inside. 

"She loves to nibble on things." Sonic said, and Tails nodded, knowing that for a fact. 

Then suddenly and to their surprise, they saw Freeway, running outside to escape from the strange bath. They watched her run passed them and then they turned to see Shadow, standing at the door with tomato sauce on his face. Sonic and Tails were at a loss for words. 

"Go throw her in the lake!!" Shadow yelled, letting out his burden of frustration.  

"Calm down, Shadow, take it easy now." Sonic said, and he carefully approached the heavily breathing hedgehog. "It's okay. You go wash up and I'll take care of Freeway." 

Shadow calmed himself down, let out a sigh and then he faced Sonic. "No, I never should've behaved that way or said what I said. I'll do better, Sonic." Shadow promised. 

"Hey, let's both finish the job. It'll go faster." Sonic told him, and they agreed. They worked together, cleaned the fawn, dried her off and soon, she was fresh and clean again. 

= = = = =

Afternoon passed and evening came as the cool, sweet breeze flowed in with the gentle wind. The team gathered around the campfire that was now burning with the fire they made. They roasted hotdogs on sticks and the fish that Knuckles and Rouge had caught while at the lake, then they had roasted marshmallows and fresh berries for dessert and nothing could be better for them. They had each other, and so what more could they ask for? 

"I wish this was a chilidog." Sonic sighed, looking at his roasted hotdog on a stick. 

"It's close enough, Sonic. Just eat it so the girls will be happy." Tails whispered. 

"No problem." Sonic said, and then he took the first bite of his camp dinner. 

Amy looked around when she heard an owl in a tree near the camp. She turned to face Shadow who was sitting beside Sonic. "I hope those lions and tigers out there mind their own business." She said, and looked around the area again, holding her stick tightly, which held her hotdog. 

"Amy, there's nothing to be scared of." Shadow assured her, after swallowing. 

Amy nodded her head and she became quiet. But for some reason, she still worried. After they ate their dinner and watched the stars while talking for a little, the team became tired. It was time to sleep. The sun was long gone and the stars ruled the sky with the moon in the night. Everyone brushed their teeth and prepared for bed. Two tents stood as their shelter for the night, one for the boys and one for the girls. After Sonic finished, he entered the tent where the other boys were already there, waiting for him. Each one had a sleeping bag to stay warm because it was cold at night. Sonic felt tired after a long day as he snuggled in his warm sleeping bag. Tails was beside him while Shadow and Knuckles were on the other side of the tent. Sonic let a weak sigh out of his mouth and he closed his green eyes to sleep. Then he heard Amy's voice outside from the girl tent and he sat up. Tails did the same and he wondered what it was. 

"Don't forget me, Sonic, if we get in trouble!" Amy said, from the girl tent. "I'm depending on you!" After that was said and heard, all the boys in the tent looked at Sonic. 

"Oh, good grief." Sonic closed his eyes, blushing. It was going to be a long night for him. 

= = = = = 

Hidden from sight in the darkness, the glowing red eyes of Metal Sonic stared down at the peaceful camp of the Sonic team. The RV was seen and he knew they were there. The deadly robot hedgehog closed his metal fist tightly, forming his sharp hand to punch in a fight. 

"Frightening, isn't it?" Chaos whispered in the dark behind Metal Sonic. 

"Be quiet, will ya? I was just striking a real dramatic pose and you always have to screw things up, don't you?" Metal asked, turning around to face Chaos. 

"Well, someone has to keep your bolts on." Chaos grinned. 

"If you say that one more time, you'll eat tree bark for a week." Metal threatened. He turned back to face the camp. "Now that we found them and it's dark, it will be easy to catch them." 

"Yeah, kids are scared of the dark." Chaos said, and then Metal shook his head. 

"You're scared of the dark too, Chaos. Don't kid yourself."

"I am not." Chaos said, and he followed the robot hedgehog down the hill, toward the camp.  

They continued arguing about that subject but then a sudden sound from a tree, which was only a raccoon, greatly scared Chaos. He screamed and fell onto the robot, and so both of them tumbled down the hill, down, down, down until they reached the lake. They fell into the water. Metal came up first, furious and he turned to Chaos who came up beside him, holding a fish in his mouth. Metal growled and slapped his forehead, turning his face away with shame. Then suddenly, they heard a growl behind them. They slowly turned around and to their shock, it was a bear, a very hungry bear I should say, and it had its eyes on the fish, which Chaos held. Terrified, they swam for life with the bear closely following them toward dry land. They disappeared into the darkness of the forest with the bear still following them. 

Inside the tent, Tails heard the noises outside and he gently shook Sonic until the blue hedgehog slightly opened an eye, sleepily. "Sonic, I heard something out there." Tails whispered. 

"Not to worry, Tails." Sonic whispered, sleepily. "It's only the wonders of nature and all part of the great outdoors." He yawned and closed his eyes again. "Go back to sleep, big guy." 

Tails shrugged, forgetting his fears. "Okay, goodnight, Sonic." He whispered. 

"Goodnight, little bro. Sweet dreams." Sonic whispered before falling asleep again. 

It was a calm and peaceful night for the crew. They slept well in their tents with the beautiful stars as their ceiling and the moon as their nightlight above them. The crickets sang them a quiet song and they heard the frogs in the lake, sometimes an owl or a raccoon would be heard but they did not fear because they knew it was the great outdoors. Through the night, they traveled together in their dreams and so they would stay until the sun would rise and bring another day. 


	18. Unquenchable friendship

**Chapter 18: Unquenchable friendship  **

Early in the morning, the sun began to rise up into the sky and a small beam of light peeked in through the tent, reaching the face of Sonic the Hedgehog who was still asleep. The sunbeam seemed to tickle his nose until he sat up, fighting the feeling to chuckle. He rubbed his green eyes, awakening them and then he looked around. Tails was asleep beside him, but Shadow and Knuckles were already gone, so they must be outside somewhere. The blue hedgehog stepped outside of the tent and the morning was cold in the forest. He welcomed the morning sunlight to warm the air and he looked toward the lake for a moment of silence. 

"Sonic?" The sleepy voice of Tails broke his thoughts. "Why didn't you wake me up?" 

"You were too cute in there, Tails, and besides, you're always close behind me." Sonic grinned and stroked Tails on the head. "You hungry, kid?" He asked. 

"Yeah, a little, but once morning wares off, I'll be really hungry." Tails replied. 

"Okay, let's prepare to move out. I hope to reach a town so we can find a few supplies there." Sonic told him, and then they began to take the tents down. 

Shadow and Knuckles were on top of the RV, and Sonic gave them the ropes for the tents. Knuckles had the tents secured, the ropes were stored away and the girls were making sure the campfire was out before leaving. Shadow turned and reached for the last rope but he suddenly tripped and fell from the RV, falling until he reached the ground. 

"Shadow!" Sonic called and he ran to him with Tails closely following. 

Freeway stepped out from under the RV and she gently licked Shadow's face, nuzzled him on the cheek and then he opened his eyes only to see a baby deer face looking down at him. Unharmed, Shadow sat up as Sonic quickly came to his side, concerned. 

"Are you okay, Shadow?" Sonic asked, and he gripped his hand, lifting him up. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Shadow answered, quietly. He turned and saw Freeway, holding a flower in her mouth and she gave it to him. "Thanks." He whispered. 

"That's so sweet! I'll take a picture." Amy said, and then with a flash, a photo was taken. 

"Hey, come back here with that camera!" Shadow began to chase her, but then he remembered that he was holding the flower. He turned and gave it to Sonic. "Here, take this." He said, and then he ran after Amy who was escaping with the camera. "Come back here!" He called. 

Sonic watched him leave and then he looked at the flower, then at Tails, and then finally down at the confused Freeway. "You'll understand one day." Sonic told her, quietly. 

After a morning of packing, the team was ready to leave. The RV moved once again, leaving the forest camp and they traveled toward Idaho where they would find a town to gather a few needed supplies and refill the RV before they continue in the journey on wheels. 

= = = = = 

_Location: Idaho…_

The beautiful sight of the mountains amazed Sonic and his team when they saw the place. The RV stopped for a moment and they watched a flock of birds fly over them like kites. The wind was gently blowing and a cool breeze was in the air. It was dry in that area because no rain had fallen in a while, but when the Sonic team arrived, they saw rain clouds gathering. The sign of a storm was above them. After a moment of rest, the RV moved again, driving into a small town with Sonic as the driver and Shadow sat beside him to help navigate when needed. They reached a place to refill the RV and the girls were able to find the supplies inside a store. It was a quiet place and Sonic watched the dark clouds overhead, wondering if a storm would strike. Soon they were ready to leave and everyone entered the RV but Freeway was under it, trembling with fear of the thunderstorm. Knuckles found her and he tried to call her to come out. But it was not easy. 

"Freeway, come out now. We have to go." Knuckles called, but she closed her eyes, trembling. Then the echidna stood up and called for his friend. "Sonic, she won't come out. She looks afraid of something. I don't know what's wrong." Knuckles explained to him about it. 

Sonic jumped outside from the driver seat and he came to the location where Knuckles was pointing. "Freeway?" Sonic called her, gently. 

He saw the baby deer tremble again and then she opened her eyes, facing him with her ears laid back. "Hey, Freeway, come out and let's go. We're not leaving without you." He reached out for the fawn, using his hand and then Freeway smelled it, gathering courage to move. She stepped outside and she found herself in the arms of Sonic and he hugged her. "There now, it's okay. We'll try to find a camp before any storm hits the area. Here, Knuckles take her in."

Knuckles took Freeway and carried her inside while Sonic climbed back into the RV, sitting down and buckling himself to drive. Shadow wondered what the problem was but he did not ask. He sat quietly in the passenger seat next to the driver and the RV began to move again. Soon after they left the town and nothing but trees of the forest was seen, thunder was heard outside. 

"It looks like we're going to have rain." Sonic said, quietly and Shadow heard him. 

"Yes, but the road will be dangerous here when it's wet. We should find a campsite." 

"I know, Shadow. I guess that's the best thing to do." Sonic agreed. 

Just then, the engine began to act strangely and Sonic stopped. He stepped outside and Shadow followed him to the front of the RV. Everyone came outside to see what the trouble was, and it was the fan belt. It was burned somehow and Sonic began working on it. Knuckles found a spare inside so that was helpful. The girls found the activity to be very boring. After telling Tails, the three girls left to walk with Freeway down a path in the forest, not far away from the RV. Tails passed another tool to Sonic so he could make a few final adjustments and then suddenly, he smelled something. He sniffed and instantly recognized it as smoke. 

"Sonic, do you smell something?" Tails asked him, turning to the blue hedgehog. 

"Yeah, I smell a stinky engine." Sonic answered, still facing his work. 

"No, Sonic, it's not that. I smell smoke. Do you smell it, Knuckles?" Tails asked. 

Knuckles looked up from the toolbox. "No, Tails, I SEE smoke!" He pointed toward the trees and the others turned to see. It was with no doubt a forest fire. 

"Oh no! The girls are out there!" Sonic gasped, realizing the great danger. 

"How will we find them?" Tails asked him, and the fear was heard in his voice. 

"We will, I promise you that! Let's go!" Sonic called, and he ran down the path. Sonic took the led with the others following him. The hedgehog could smell the smoke and feel the heat of the wild flame. The fire was growing stronger and stronger, faster than he thought possible. 

"Amy! Tikal! Rouge! Where are you?!" Sonic called out to them, seeking to find. When there was no answer or any sign of them, Sonic ran faster, looking and listening. 

The smoke became thicker and he could hardly see anything. His eyes began to water because of the harsh smoke, which filled the air and made it difficult to breathe. Sonic stopped for a moment and listened carefully. He raised his hand to shadow his eyes and then to his relief, he heard Amy, coughing and she was not far away. Sonic lifted his green eyes toward the path and then he saw Amy with Tikal. The two girls were coughing as they came to the team. 

"Amy! Tikal, where's Rouge and Freeway?" Sonic asked, after he coughed. 

"They were right behind us, but then we lost them. We thought they made it here." Tikal answered him, and Amy was unable to speak because of the coughing. 

Sonic took them both by the hands and he led them to the others, who were calling and looking for their missing friends. "Shadow, get them back to the RV and take care of them! And Tails, you go call the Fire Department, right away!" 

"But where's Rouge?" Knuckles asked him when he did not see her in the group. 

"I don't know, Knuckles. No one knows." Sonic replied, truthfully.  

"I'm going! I gotta find her!" Knuckles ran passed Sonic and he disappeared in the smoke. 

"NO, Knuckles! It's too dangerous there!" Sonic called him but it was too late. "KNUCKLES!" He cried but there was no answer. Tails and Shadow helped Amy and Tikal back to the RV, but Sonic stayed behind to find the others. He could only hope that Knuckles was all right.

"Rouge! Freeway!" Sonic called, and he ran again until he reached a dry creek. 

He gasped when he saw Freeway down in the creek where she had fallen with her leg trapped between two heavy rocks and a dangerous snake was close to strike her. He froze when he came down into the dry creek, and then suddenly, he saw the snake raise its head toward the helpless fawn, opening its mouth and he could seen the deadly fangs. Sonic jumped toward it, bravely and he crushed the head with his shoe. He only wounded it but he finished it with a rock. He never lifted the rock but he ran to Freeway who was unharmed and he carefully helped her out of the snare of rocks. He did not allow himself to breathe until she was safe in his arms again. 

"Freeway." Sonic whispered, holding her and a tear fell from his cheek. He quickly stood on his feet, climbed out of the dry creek with the fawn and then he hurried back to the RV. 

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, in the burning forest, Knuckles stood in the midst of it, looking for any signs of Rouge, listening for any familiar sounds and he called for her. He heard no answer but he did not give up. He knew she was near him and so, keeping his courage, he kept going. 

"Rouge!" Knuckles called her again, and then he jumped over a fallen tree.

"Long time no see, treasure hunter." A weak voice said behind him. 

"Rouge!" Knuckles cried and he ran to her. She was beside the fallen tree, leaning against it, coughing. "Rouge, let's go! Can you get up?" Knuckles asked her. 

Rouge shook her head. "No, I can't. I twisted my ankle." She answered, weakly. 

"Then I'll carry you." Knuckles said, lifting her from the ground. 

"Ouch!" Rouge cried in pain, and Knuckles carried her in his arms to safety. Knuckles found the path and he followed it, knowing it would lead them to the RV. 

"Knuckles! Rouge!" Sonic called, running toward them with Shadow running beside him. 

"Sonic, we're here!" Knuckles answered the call and the two hedgehogs found them. 

They returned to the RV and the firefighters arrived. The fire was soon under control, and after making sure everyone was safe inside, Sonic drove the RV out of the area. Tikal wrapped a bandage around Rouge's wounded ankle while she rested on a bed. Knuckles was glad not to hear anymore coughing and they all recovered after the frightening event. They made it through alive and together. Sonic and his friends realized that was the important thing. The RV stopped where they could rest at a safe campsite. It rained that night and Rouge stared outside the window, alone and she was listening to the drops falling down. She let out a quiet sigh, thinking. 

"How are you feeling, Rouge?" Knuckles asked, quietly entering the room. 

"Tired." Rouge answered, simply and she did not turn to look at him. 

"You haven't touched your dinner, so I thought something was wrong." 

"I'm just not very hungry now." Rouge said in a whisper, still watching the rain. 

"Well, do you have any room for dessert? I can't eat my share of pie alone." Knuckles sat down at the foot of the bed, holding a paper plate, which held a piece of pumpkin pie. 

"That's strange. I thought eating would be easy as pie for you." Rouge joked, lightly. 

"Not right now. I already cut it in half. Will you share it with me?" He asked her. 

Finally, Rouge turned from the window and she faced him. "Yeah, okay." She smiled. 

"Good." Knuckles said, and he smiled also, offering her a fork. Rouge shyly took it and then they began eating the dessert with the rain as their music. 

The drip drops outside were heard and Sonic watched the rain from the driver seat, finishing his last few bites of pie. Shadow did not touch his dessert until his hot coffee was ready. He would never eat it without coffee. Now relaxing and in peace, the team enjoyed their dessert with the RV as their refuge. They were safe and well, together again as they always wanted it to be. The fire could not burn them and the smoke could not harm them, but they came together again to realize more than before that their friendship was unquenchable. After that trial, it was unquestionable that some friendships can never die or be destroyed. The night became silent and still, quiet as the sky began to clear so the moon and stars could shine in the darkness. Sonic and his friends rested in the RV, sleeping the night away. They had quite an amazing adventure together and a new day always brings a new adventure, but for now…  Rest easy, heroes. 


	19. Thin ice

**Chapter 19: Thin ice **

Through the storm clouds, the sun announced the morning with a warm light beam. The dewdrops outside shined on the green grass like diamonds and after the night storm came a beautiful morning. The storm clouds fled away as if they feared the golden sunlight, which was the victor to bring the morning. Everywhere there were signs of renewing and at the campsite; it was quiet when Sonic the Hedgehog opened his green eyes to another day. He rubbed his eyes and then he realized that he had fallen asleep in the driver's seat last night. He grinned sleepily, thinking how strange that was but on the road, you have to do what it takes to travel through and a place to sleep was never for sure, especially when you are with a crew, like Sonic. The blue hedgehog stretched his arms and legs, let out a yawn and then he turned toward the passenger seat next to him. He was surprised to see that Shadow was asleep there on the chair, but he was also holding a coffee mug in his hand, which was now empty. Sonic covered his mouth with his hands to keep from laughing but not to laugh was very difficult at the moment. Shadow slightly opened his eyes, which made Sonic drop his hands and then the blue hedgehog smiled. 

"Good morning, Shadow. Did you sleep well? How are you?" Sonic asked him. 

Shadow sat up, sleepily blinking his eyes and then he noticed the cup in his hand. He blinked again as if he did not believe he was holding it and then he looked at Sonic. "I'm fine, but I need some more coffee." He said, quietly and then he removed the blanket off himself. 

"More coffee?" Sonic said, surprised. "Man, you had two cups last night. You better be careful." 

Shadow ignored him and stood up from the chair to make himself a morning cup of coffee. Sonic sighed and shook his head, but a smile was seen on his face. Then he saw that everyone else was gone. "Hey, Shadow, do you know where the others are?" Sonic asked, curiously. 

"The girls are at the ladies restrooms, taking a shower, Knuckles is out walking Freeway and Tails is over at the picnic table, working on his laptop computer." Shadow answered. 

"Wow, how did you know all that?" Sonic asked him. 

"Coffee keeps you going. Get it?" Shadow asked, and then Sonic nodded his head, yes. 

He watched Shadow pour himself a cup of coffee, and then Sonic slipped his shoes on, ready for running. "I could use a shower myself. I'll be back in a little bit." Sonic told him, and then he stepped outside with a bath towel. Shadow shrugged and then he carefully took a sip of the hot coffee before sitting down to look at the map. He saw that the next stop was Wyoming. 

= = = = = 

_Location: Wyoming…_

The RV moved on until they reached Wyoming and it was a lovely place. They were on their way to see Yellowstone National Park, which is a great park to visit. But our great crew was unaware that their foe Dr. Eggman was not willing to give up yet. The villain had been at the drawing board, thinking until he invented a machine that could control the weather. To control something like that can be very dangerous but that is precisely what he wanted to win. 

"The hedgehog doesn't stand a chance now that I have completed my greatest invention ever and reached a powerful achievement. With this, my Weather Disorder, my adversary will surely be history!" Eggman said, proudly standing next to the weather machine. 

"And I thought he was talking about me." Metal Sonic whispered to himself.   

"Oh, goodie, good, good! We have our very own minivan!" Chaos said, excited. 

"That's not a minivan, stupid. It's the Weather Disorder." Metal corrected him. 

"It sure looks like a minivan to me. I want to go for a drive." 

"Absolutely not!" Metal angrily said, but Eggman turned to them with a plan. 

"We are going for a drive to Yellowstone National Park, which is the location of the pesky blue rodent right now. We'll sneak into the park without being detected, and victory shall be mine!" The scientist told them and then he entered the machine, laughing. 

"I told you so, screwy." Chaos teased and he ran into the van before Metal could attack him. 

= = = = = 

Returning to the hero side, we find Sonic and his crew at Yellowstone National Park, enjoying the truly amazing sights and sounds, taking pictures and watching the wildlife in the area. Yellowstone National Park is the first and oldest national park in the world. Preserved within Yellowstone are Old Faithful Geyser and some 10,000 hot springs and geysers, the majority of the planet's total. These geothermal wonders are evidence of one of the world's largest active volcanoes; its last eruption created a crater that spans almost half of the park. An outstanding mountain wild land with clean water and air, Yellowstone is home of the grizzly bear and wolf, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk. It is the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet. Sonic and his friends found the park to be very interesting and filled with wonders. They watched with excitement and enjoyment as a herd of bison walked passed them, very close and so Amy was taking photos of them and elk, which were eating grass under the shade of trees. 

"Wow! Look, Old Faithful is going to erupt!" Amy pointed toward it and everyone looked. They watched as the boiling water reached up into the sky. They watched until it vanished. 

"That's so cool! It makes me want to fly!" Sonic leaped into the air and then he landed right on his feet. "Then again, maybe not." Sonic thought, after he saw that he did not reach as high. 

"Show off." Shadow whispered, shaking his head. 

"This is a great place, but you have to expect the unexpected." Knuckles said, and after he finished speaking, the team was very surprised to see snow falling down. 

"WHAT?" Tails gasped. "It's snowing! Look, Sonic! It's snow!" 

"Whoever heard anything like this?" Sonic said, "Snow in June? It's impossible!" But it was possible, because Dr. Eggman arrived in his ship with Metal and Chaos. 

"Dr. Eggman!" Amy screamed when she saw him behind the team. Everyone turned around and they came face to face with the evil scientist who fought for revenge. 

"If you value your life, miserable rodent, you will surrender the Emerald and yourself to me! But if you don't, I'll make sure you become a hedgehog snow cone!" Eggman coldly threatened. 

"Sonic!" Knuckles asked him, "What are we going to do? What should we say?" 

"A situation like this calls for precisely the right communication." Sonic answered, and then he turned to Eggman and stuck out his tongue, mocking him. 

"Metal, destroy Sonic!" Eggman commanded, pointing toward the blue hedgehog. 

"It will be an honor to smash him to bits and tare him limb from limb!" Metal said, and he ran toward the blue hedgehog until they were head to head, pushing each other. 

"I'll never let you take me down, you tin plated junkyard reject!" Sonic growled. 

"Foolish words, lame hedgehog! This is your last day on Earth and I will make it one you'll never remember!" Metal slapped Sonic on the face, casting him down to the ground.  

"There's only one real Sonic!" The hedgehog said, standing up again. He leaped into a homing attack, hitting Metal and damaging him and they both fell backwards to the ground. 

"Sonic!" Shadow called and he came to his side, lifting him from the snowy ground. 

Sonic opened his eyes and rested a hand on his head, and then he gasped when he saw Chaos behind Shadow. "Look out!" Sonic yelled and he ducked down with Shadow before Chaos could punch him. They watched as Chaos missed the punch and his fist hit his own face. 

Chaos fell to the ground; dizzy after punching himself by mistake and then Metal lifted him up, shaking him awake. They turned and faced Sonic and his crew and they were holding snowballs, which the girls had been making. Metal and Chaos looked at each other, shrugging. 

"This is war!" Sonic said, and he threw the first snowball for Eggman, which was a direct hit. 

"That does it!" Eggman growled and he was furious. "Metal, Chaos, attack! Get them!" 

Metal nodded his head and he was very fast to make snowballs with his hands. Chaos watched him until he felt dizzy. Metal turned to Sonic, holding a snowball in his hand. 

"Sonic, they've got snowballs too!" Tails warned him, pointing. 

"That always makes it more interesting!" Sonic said, after he jumped over a flying snowball. Then he threw one toward Metal, but the robot ducked down and it hit Chaos instead. 

"Now you'll get yours!" Metal threw another toward Sonic and this time, it hit him on the shoulder. He fell backwards but Shadow and Knuckles caught him and pushed him back up. 

"Whew! Thanks, guys. I needed that." Sonic thanked them, and then he found another snowball.

And so that was the way it went for almost ten minutes until Metal suddenly leaped into the air and Sonic did the same. Metal surprised Sonic with a kick and the hedgehog fell down a steep hill with Metal following him. The robot had his sharp hands around the hedgehog's neck and they fought their way down onto frozen water and only ice supported them. 

"SONIC!" The crew called him, running toward the ice. 

"No!" Sonic chocked out the word while in the deadly grasp of Metal. He was pinned down on his back, on the frozen water and he felt the ice slightly crack beneath him. His eyes were closed but then he managed to open them slightly only to see the glowing red eyes of Metal above him. Sonic gathered all his strength and used his legs to kick the robot away. "Get off my back!" Sonic yelled and then he stood up, strong again and he took a good breath of air. 

"We're coming, Sonic!" Knuckles called and he reached the ice first, coming to him.

"Guys, watch out, we're on thin ice!" Sonic warned when he saw his friends coming. 

"Whoa! Whoa!" Shadow yelled, slipping on the ice and then he used his air shoes to stand. 

"HELP!" Rouge screamed, trying to stop but she fell from the ground and onto the ice. She slid at amazing speed and knocked down Metal when he was finally able to stand up again. 

"Hey, this is fun! The water's stiff!" Tails said, holding Tikal by the hand, skating. 

"Wintertime is nice with the ice and snow!" Amy giggled; skating passed them. 

"Summertime is nice for a place to go." Tikal added, still holding Tails by the hand, afraid. 

"I was thinking of suppertime myself." Knuckles said, and he held Rouge's hands, skating with her, but bats were not good skaters on ice. Rouge nearly slipped again, but Knuckles held her. 

"How can you think of food at a time like this?!" Rouge screamed at the red echidna. 

"Oh, I have my ways." Knuckles said, and he raised an eyebrow, grinning. 

Sonic sighed and turned toward Metal again who was standing on his feet again after falling a few times. Sonic stood ready to fight but before Metal could attack, the ice beneath him cracked and down he went into the cold water with a splash. He was frozen under water. 

"What a chilling thrill!" Sonic gasped with surprise when he saw it. But then suddenly, he heard the ice crack beneath him and he knew that he and his friends were in danger. He lifted his eyes and turned toward them, warning. "Guys, we gotta split like wild! The ice won't hold!" 

"You hear that, Knuckles?! We're going to die in ice! That's not nice!" Rouge screamed. 

"Nah, I don't have time to die! Let's go, Rouge!" Knuckles carried her toward land, on firm ground, gliding his way there and they were finally safe, much to the bat's relief. 

"Time to go, Tikal!" Tails called, pulling her by the hand and they made it safely. 

"You're not as strong as I thought." Shadow said to the frozen Metal before leaving. 

Sonic turned to leave but then a scream made him turn back to the ice. "Sonic, help!!" Amy called from the ice and he saw that her foot was caught. The ice was shattering like glass. 

"AMY!" Sonic called and he ran to her without a moment to lose. "Hang on! I'm coming!" 

"Sonic!" Amy screamed when she saw the ice breaking around her, dangerously. 

Sonic panted and felt his heart thumping wildly as he feared that the ice would break at any moment with no warning whatsoever. He hurried and made it to Amy, freed her captured foot and lifted her to stand up, but then all around, a crack was formed in the ice. 

"We're on an island!" Amy gasped with horror when she saw where they were. 

"No worries! I'm the world's fastest hedgehog!" Sonic said, and then he took her hand, running at top speed, jumped over the shattered ice and landed to safety but it was too good to last. Behind them, the ice began to shatter and the dangerously cold water sought to swallow anything in its path. "Great balls of fire!" Sonic gasped and he ran without looking back. 

"Sonic, the sky isn't falling but the floor is!" Amy screamed as she nearly fell in water. 

"I know! I know!" Sonic said, running faster as the thin ice behind him shattered with every step he took. He jumped when the ice in front of him shattered and he somehow landed safely on the ground where the crew was waiting for them. Sonic let Amy down and she giggled. 

"My hero! You rescued me!" She smiled and hugged him tight until he chocked. 

"Is everyone here?" Sonic asked after he recovered and he looked around. 

"Yeah, we're all here but Eggman is on his way over here." Knuckles warned him. 

"No problem. I've got a plan." Tails said, and he found his laptop in his backpack. He opened the laptop and began typing on the keyboard, making the team wonder with questions. 

"What in the world are you doing? This is no time for Tetris." Rouge said, confused.  

"No, I'm able to probe into Eggman's weather machine and if I do this right, I can give him a taste of his own medicine." The fox said, and he continued typing until he finished. 

"That doctor is down for the count." Sonic said, grinning at the computer screen.   

= = = = = 

Near the mountain, Dr. Eggman and Chaos had lost sight of Metal and the Sonic crew and they did not have a clue. The scientist stood beside the Weather Disorder invention, thinking. "This is most unusual for Metal to simply disappear with that hedgehog. Chaos, see if you can find them with the telescope." He pointed toward it, and then Chaos looked in with one eye, seeking. 

His eyes widened when he saw a giant snowball coming down toward them. "Well, I don't know about Sonic, but I see a HUGE white thing coming right for us from the sky!" 

"Never mind the snowballs! I want to know—AH! Oh no!!" Eggman screamed and Chaos did the same as the giant snowball crashed into the Weather Disorder, destroying it, burying Eggman and Chaos in a pile of snow while doing so. 

On top of the mountain, Sonic and his friends stood together, each standing on a snowboard. They saw that the plan worked as they expected it to and in fact, better than they thought. Sonic looked to his left and to his right, facing each team member, and then he winked his eye. 

"Let's go follow our rainbow!" Sonic said, and with a slight push, he slid down the snowy hill on the snowboard and the others followed him all the way back to the RV, their home on wheels. The cold wind rushed passed him and the world was flying colors to him. He shouted for the victory and his heart was restored with faith in his and his friend's great abilities. Now with the weather back, as it should be the RV began to travel on the road again with the great explorers. 


	20. Sleep tight

**Chapter 20: Sleep tight **

The RV of the Sonic crew drove onward until they finally reached Omaha, Nebraska. It was quiet, a peaceful place to stop and rest after a long drive on the road in the journey. It was nightfall when they arrived, so it was very dark outside when Shadow the Hedgehog looked outside the passenger side window. He noticed that the RV was suddenly slowing down and he turned to face the driver. He gasped when he saw Sonic, driving in his sleep. 

"Sonic!! Wake up!!" Shadow called and he gripped the steering wheel in time. He took control of the RV while Knuckles and Tails carried the worn out blue hedgehog to the sofa. 

"Huh? What am I doing here?" Sonic asked, sleepily and he turned to see Tails. 

"You fell asleep while driving. So, we thought you could rest here." Tails explained. 

"I never fell asleep while driving in my life!" Sonic sat up, looking up to face Shadow. 

"Well, you just did, Sonic. Now, get some sleep." Shadow said, driving the RV. 

"How long was I driving?" Sonic weakly asked, fighting to stay wake, but he was losing. 

"Go to sleep, Sonic. It's okay." Tails said, quietly and covered him with a blanket. He watched Sonic close his green eyes and heard him sigh, weakly before falling asleep. 

Shadow soon found an RV park to stop for the night, and so they settled down there for the night. 

= = = = = 

While Sonic and his friends slept that night, they did not know Dr. Eggman was working on another evil plan to destroy them and steal the Emerald from them. While the scientist was working on a new invention, Chaos was busy melting the ice, which Metal Sonic was trapped in, frozen and unable to move. Above all other things, Chaos used a hairdryer to melt the ice, but it worked and Metal soon fell out from the ice, free at last. 

"Metal!" Chaos called, shaking the robot to wake up. "Are you alive? Say something!" 

When the robot hedgehog gave no answer, Chaos dragged him to the fireplace to warm him up. After a few moments of the fire, Metal lifted his head and his eyes began to glow a bright red again. He stood up on his feet, looking around at the new surroundings of a laboratory. 

"Hey, Metal, you're awake! Do you remember anything?" Chaos asked him. 

"I remember that you're wrong and I'm right, as usual." The robot replied. 

"Oh, boy! You're back to normal! Yippee!" Chaos cheered, gladly dancing around him. 

"I think I was better off in the ice." Metal whispered, crossing his arms. He tapped his foot and he wondered where they were. "Yeah, where are we anyway?" He asked. 

"I think the Doctor said we're in Alaska." Chaos answered, falsely. 

"No, we're in Nebraska!" Eggman said from the table close by, still working on something.  

"It sounds the same as Alaska. Maybe they're related, you think?" Chaos wondered. 

"No, and I'm sure NOT related to you!" Metal said, angrily. 

"That's a shame. We would make swell brothers." Chaos said, and then Metal fainted. "There he goes again, but at least I got him out of that ice." Chaos then covered him with a blanket. 

"Never mind that now." Eggman said, and he stood up with his new plan. "I have a new and improved invention that will make the hedgehog have his last nap, because after I used the spare parts of my Weather Disorder, I was able to invent these Sleep Tight grenades." 

"That's great, master!" Chaos clapped his hands. "Brilliant plan! Wonderful job!" 

"Yes, and so once I find the RV, they will sleep tight for the last time. That will be the opportunity to destroy them all. They will sleep without being able to fight it." Eggman turned to laugh out loud and he was confident beyond any doubt that his idea would work. 

"Huh? What's going on?" Metal asked, and he sat up to see a blanket, covering him. "CHAOS!!" 

= = = = = 

The next day… After a peaceful night of rest, the team woke up with the sun shining to let the world know a new day had arrived. It was a calm morning at the RV Park where they were staying at the time, and Sonic the Hedgehog awoke at the smell of coffee. He had no doubt that it was Shadow. He did not even have to open his eyes to see. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, sniffed and then he turned toward the small kitchen. Sure enough, there was Shadow, stirring his morning cup of hot coffee with a spoon. He stopped stirring for a moment and only his eyes moved, looking as if he heard something and then he continued stirring until he was satisfied. 

"You know, Shadow," Sonic yawned, "Maybe you used to be a red hedgehog and when you drank too much of that strange black stuff, you became black with red streaks." 

"But I remember myself as black from the very beginning." Shadow said, and then he blew the hot steam away, sitting down on a chair to read the newspaper. 

Sonic shrugged. "Sure you do." He whispered as he climbed into the driver's seat. 

"You wanna waffle?" Shadow asked, offering it to him. 

"Yeah, thanks." Sonic took it from his hand and they both ate a quick breakfast. 

"You want some coffee?" Shadow asked him, and then Sonic choked on his waffle. 

"No! Never!" Sonic answered, shaking his head after he recovered. 

"Fine, just thought I'd ask." Shadow shrugged and he returned to his reading. 

Later that morning, the RV started moving again with Sonic as the driver and they began to spend some time in Omaha together, enjoying an afternoon with a clear blue sky above them. The city's people there were very friendly to them and they even gave them free hats for being good tourists. Sonic had a Texan cowboy hat, Tails had a green jungle hat, Amy loved hers with flowers, Rouge made sure hers had fake jewels on it, Tikal enjoyed hers with a yellow ribbon, Knuckles was a little embarrassed to ware a baseball cap, and Shadow had the strangest of them all, and it was a hat from Mexico. He wore it only to make the Omaha people happy, but he was glad to remove it when they returned to the RV. So, they had a fun afternoon, had lunch together and then we find the heroic crew taking a walk down the town's streets. The girls went window-shopping and Sonic raced Shadow around the place, while Tails and Knuckles finished drinking a cup of soda. The two racing hedgehogs stopped when Metal Sonic suddenly appeared in front of them. 

"I'm going to hang you!" Metal threatened, angrily as he remembered what happened before. Behind the robot hedgehog, Chaos and Eggman were seen, back for revenge. 

"Oh, look, it's the Gooey, the Bad and the very Ugly." Sonic pointed toward them.  

"Which one is which?" Shadow wondered, scratching his head.

"You'll think differently when you know that I have captured half of your team!" Eggman said and he laughed when the girls were heard, screaming inside a nearby abandoned building. 

"Guys, let's move out!" Sonic called and he ran with Shadow to find the missing friends. Knuckles and Tails ran, but when Knuckles threw his cup toward a wastebasket, it missed. 

"Uh-oh!" Chaos gasped, and he took the cup and tossed it into the wastebasket. But then Metal dumped all the trash into the street and threw the wastebasket on Chaos, covering him. 

"What do you care? We're supposed to be evil, the villains, and the bad guys! Get it?" 

"Oh, I remember now. I get it, all right." Chaos nodded his head, with the basket over him. 

"Stop getting IT and get that hedgehog, NOW!" Eggman commanded, growling. 

Meanwhile, Sonic and his crew entered the dark building and they found the girls inside, tied to a wall and Freeway the baby deer was trying her best to chew the ropes to let them go. The girls were still screaming when the team arrived and the boys covered their ears, closing their eyes. 

"Gals, we're here, so stop screaming for hearing's sake!!" Sonic begged. 

"Oh, that's nice." They said, calmly and the boys shook their heads, no. But before they could free them, Metal and Chaos arrived, standing at the doorway. 

"Surrender, hedgehog! It's over for you this time!" Metal said, pointing to him. 

"Hey, it's so dark! Turn on the lights!" Chaos said, still in the wastebasket. Metal growled and threw the basket off and Chaos shook his head, blinking his eyes to adjust to the light. 

"You embarrass me, no good liquid! Now, throw the grenades!" Metal commanded.  

"The what?" Sonic asked and he did not understand what was happening. But he forgot his question when he and his crew were surrounded with white smoke, which filled the room rapidly. Metal and Chaos laughed as they shut the door closed, locking it after them. 

"What is this stuff?" Knuckles coughed, falling to the floor with weakness. 

Sonic ran all around inside that small building, even on the walls but then he fell down, coughing as the smoke overcame him. Tails fell down beside Knuckles, coughing. The others were already asleep, because of Eggman's plan, which was working as he hoped for. Sonic crawled on his hands and knees, trying to reach the door, but he fell flat on his stomach, closing his eyes. Shadow was the only one left standing and he hurried to Sonic, lifting him up. Sonic leaned against a wooden box while Shadow held him. Both of them were coughing. 

"Everyone is down, Sonic! It's just you and me now!" Shadow told him. 

"Shadow…" Sonic said, sleepily. "I can't…. Why aren't you sleepy?" He asked. 

"I drank coffee this morning. Remember?" Shadow reminded him and Sonic groaned. "Sonic, we must think of something! Don't fall asleep, don't give in, stay awake and fight!" 

"I…I can't…" Sonic whispered, closing his eyes, but then Shadow shook him awake. 

"No, don't!" Shadow yelled. "Don't sleep! Talk to me, Sonic! Uh… you remember that time we were fighting the Finalhazard and you really were kicking tail? I saw you and so this is nothing!" 

"Shadow…I…I…" Sonic then whispered his last word. "Emerald…." Then he was gone. He uncontrollably collapsed into Shadow's arms, asleep like the others and then Shadow was alone.  

= = = = = 

Outside the building, Metal and Chaos reported the news to Dr. Eggman. "They're all out and counting sheep, boss, but there still remains that black hedgehog." Metal explained. 

"Black hedgehog?" Eggman asked, knowing it was Shadow and he thought of it for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Ah, it's nothing to fret about. They should all be down by now." 

"Okay, we'll look and see." Chaos said, and then he and Metal opened the door. But they were shocked to see no one inside. The room was empty and the heroic crew was gone. 

"It was Shadow!" Eggman angrily growled, realizing it. "He used the Emerald to warp!" 

"What a troublesome black wart." Metal whispered; shaking his head while Chaos shrugged. 

= = = = = 

Later, Sonic the Hedgehog opened his green eyes and his head hurt slightly as he slowly sat up. His vision was a blur at first, but it soon all came together clearly and he was surprised to find himself in the RV, safe and sound. He looked toward the driver's seat and there was Shadow. 

"Hey, sleepy head, how are you doing?" Shadow asked, after taking a sip of coffee. 

"Shadow!" Sonic shouted with surprise, knowing that he saved them all from danger. 

Everyone else woke up when they heard Sonic shout and they ran toward Shadow, very thankful. The black hedgehog was surrounded with hugs. They clapped and cheered for their great friend who was able to rescue them from a horrible fate. It was all in a day's work for him. The RV moved on, traveling to leave Omaha and discover more interesting places, to explore and see things that may have never been seen. Knuckles and Tails were looking at the map while the girls were baking cookies, and then the echidna turned to the two hedgehogs that were sitting up front. 

"Sonic, you know where we're going to next?" Knuckles asked him, wondering. 

Sonic and Shadow turned to face him, and the red echidna was very surprised to see them each holding a coffee cup, grinning. They both took a sip, making a slurping sound. Knuckles and Tails looked at each other in horror, realizing something. Sonic became a coffee drinker! 

"Oh no! Now there are two of them!" Knuckles and Tails gasped, imagining horror music playing in the background, and then the girls looked toward the two coffee drinking hedgehogs. 

"I'm a believer!" Sonic said happily as he let his cup touched Shadow's with the sound of a chime. It was easy as finding a dime to know that our great team had more travel time ahead. 


	21. Circus Escape

**Chapter 21: Circus Escape **

The wheels of the RV turned and turned, around and around until it stopped in Missouri where a city called St. Louis awaited the crew of Sonic the Hedgehog. It was a cloudy day when they arrived but just enough sunshine gave them needed light to see the area and they were surprised. It was actually a nice place to see, nothing like Sonic expected. In need to refill the RV, Sonic as the driver stopped and the others gladly stepped outside to see the great view. After the stop, they came to see the Saint Louis Gateway Arch. The stainless steel structure rises 630 feet high from a 60-foot foundation and spans 630 feet at ground level. They had a wonderful afternoon at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park, and now we will see how they are doing. 

"Dog gone it! I think we're lost." Knuckles told the news as he struggled with a map. 

"Lost again? Maybe they should call this place Saint Lost." Rouge said, sighing. 

"Don't sweat it, Knuckles, we're fine." Sonic said, calmly while looking toward the sky. 

"Fine?" Shadow asked him, "Do you remember where we parked the RV?" 

"Uh… um…" Sonic began to sweat as everyone looked toward him. "…No." He answered. 

"Then we are lost. What should we do now?" Tails asked the blue hedgehog. 

"It's okay, little buddy. If anything can be lost, it can be found. Just leave it to me." 

"We did, and now look what happened." Knuckles murmured, quietly. 

"I heard that." Sonic said, looking right at the red echidna. "Cool it, guys. There is a way…" 

"Maybe we should simply find the parking lot." Shadow said, after clearing his throat. 

"Right, Shadow. I knew that." Sonic winked his eye. Then he turned to Tails who was now holding the map. "Hey, Tails, can we find the parking space from here?" He asked. 

"Sure, we can." Tails replied, but when he opened the map to look, a sudden wind blew it away. "Oh no! That's the only map we have!" Tails gasped, pointing toward the flying paper. 

"After that map!" Sonic shouted and he ran with the others following him. 

"Strange idea, but the only choice. Follow it and don't let it get away!" Knuckles added. 

"This is crazy." Shadow said, and then he joined in the chase for the flying map. 

"There it goes! I see it!" Amy ran and she pointed toward the cloudy sky. 

"There must be a reason why the wind is blowing in this direction!" Tikal said, running.

"Reason? Ha!" Rouge laughed, and then she began to glide. 

Sonic and the other runners were forced to stop when a fence blocked the path. Sonic gripped the chain-linked fence, looking up at the sharp barbed wire above, panting. 

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'll get it for you." Tails promised and then, doing his best, he flew up toward the sky and over the high fence to find the missing map, which was needed. 

"Be careful, Tails!" Sonic called, gripping the fence tighter. 

Above the city, Tails searched the sky carefully with his eyes until he saw paper, falling down toward a building. Tails rushed toward it and he caught it, even surprising himself. He quickly turned back and came to his friends who were all waiting for him to return. "I got it!" 

"Good work." Sonic said, and then Tails gave it to him. But Sonic had a confused expression on his face when he opened it. He blinked his eyes, looking again, but there was no change. 

"What's the matter? Is something wrong with the map, Sonic?" Knuckles asked him. 

"No, because it's not the map at all. It's a brochure for a hotel." Sonic told him, and then everyone fell to the ground, sitting down to release a groan. It was a disappointment.  

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I failed." Tails whispered, sadly looking down at the ground and away. 

"No, Tails, don't ever say you failed. You did great, and always look on the bright side. If we can't find the RV, we'll know where to sleep for tonight, huh?" Sonic asked with a smile. 

"Yeah, I guess so. Then you're not angry with me?" Tails asked, slowly looking up at him. 

"No way." Sonic answered, shaking his head. "Everything will work out." He assured. 

"Oh, Sonic, look!" Amy said, pointing with a finger. "We could ask that man over there." 

Sonic lifted his green eyes to see a man standing on a sidewalk across the street with his back turned toward them. "Okay, we'll give it a shot." Sonic said as he approached. They crossed the street safely after looking both ways, of course, and then they came to the man. 

"Excuse me, sir…" Amy said, shyly and then the man turned to face the team. "Oh!" Amy gasped with surprised to see that the man was dressed as a clown. He raised his hand to calm down the surprised female hedgehog and then he made a balloon become a pink poodle. He gave the balloon to her as a gift and Amy shyly took it, smiling. "Thank you." She said, and the friendly clown only smiled, nodding his head, yes. 

"Hey, wait a minute. What is this place? Where are we?" Knuckles asked, very confused. To answer, the clown pointed toward a nearby sign, which said: _Circus today_

"The circus!" The Sonic team said together, surprised at the location. The clown nodded. 

"Can you talk?" Tails asked, curiously and then the clown shook his head, no. 

"This is nuts!" Knuckles said, turning to Sonic. "You led us into a world of dumb clowns!" 

"What could possibly be worse?" Shadow asked with his arms crossed, keeping away. 

"Easy, guys, just lighten up. We'll find our way back." Sonic promised them. 

The clown listened to their words and he thought for a short moment, and then an idea came to mind. He opened a small gate and stretched out his arms, inviting them inside. 

"Sonic?" Amy asked, and then the blue hedgehog turned from arguing with Knuckles. 

"What?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm. 

"He wants us to go inside and see the rides." Amy told him, and the clown nodded, smiling. 

"We can't now." Sonic refused the offer, shaking his head. 

"But he wants us to." Amy said, looking down sadly. 

"Well, Amy, sometimes we don't get what we want. That's not the way the world works." Sonic tried to explain, but then he saw Amy's saddened face. Sonic let out a heavy sigh and then he forced a smile to appear on his face. "All right, we'll go and see." He said, finally. 

"YES!" Amy shouted for joy, leaping into the air with gladness and excitement. 

And so, the team entered the gate and the clown had a surprised look on his face to see a little baby deer walk in last, following the others. It was Freeway, no doubt about it. 

= = = = = 

_Meanwhile…_

Not far away, Metal Sonic and Chaos searched high and low for the heroes, but there was no sign, no clue or even a track left behind until finally, a Saint Louis map flew into the face of Chaos, blinding him. He walked until he knocked down Metal to the ground by mistake. 

"You foolish fool!" Metal yelled, standing on his feet and pointing toward him. 

"I'm blind!" Chaos cried; trying to get the map off and then Metal snatched it away. 

"You got that right." Metal said, and then he looked at the map. He opened it, scanning. "Aha! We're very close to them now!" He said, holding the map in his hand. 

"Really? How can you tell?" Chaos asked him, confused and wondered how. 

"This map has coffee stains on it!" Metal pointed, and then Chaos nodded his head. 

"Yep, that's them for sure." Chaos agreed, and then he asked, "But where are they now?" 

"We will simply follow the wind in the opposite direction to find them." Metal explained. 

"What's the opp—the oppo… The octopus?" Chaos had trouble saying the word: opposite. 

"The other way." Metal said, making it simpler than what he first said. 

"Oh, right! Of course, the opportunity." Chaos said, still not getting it. 

"Never mind, hollow head, let's go." Metal said, and he left with the map, and Chaos followed. 

= = = = = 

While Amy happily finished her cotton candy, the others shared a bag of popcorn as they watched the colorful light displays of the rides. Sonic was still gazing at the lights as he passed Rouge the bag of popcorn for the bat to get her first share. Rouge took one bite and then she swallowed. 

"Hey! This isn't low fat…" She said, and then she continued eating. "But it is pretty good." 

"Sonic, let's go on the merry-go-round and ride a horse, please?" Amy asked. 

"Well, I don't know. That's not my style to go in circles. I'm a hedgehog, not a hamster." 

"Please? Pretty please, Sonic? Don't say, no. Say, yes! Say, yes! Please?" She begged. 

"Okay." Sonic finally gave up. "Everyone can go ride, even you, Shadow." He pointed. 

"Oh, no I won't!" Shadow shook his head, holding onto a long steel pole. 

"Oh, yes you will!" Sonic insisted and he pulled Shadow, but the black hedgehog held on tight. 

"Let go, Shadow!" Knuckles called while pulling on Sonic to help. 

"No! No! No!" Shadow held on tighter and closed his eyes, refusing to move. 

"You're coming with us!" Tails said, and he pulled on Knuckles, and then finally, Shadow fell down backward to the ground with all three of the others, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. 

"You're coming and that's final." Sonic said, and he lifted the black hedgehog to stand. Shadow stood on his feet beside Sonic and then without a warning, Metal appeared. 

"Prepare to die!" Metal said, and he pointed a laser gun toward them to shoot. 

"Ready?" Sonic asked, and then he suddenly attacked the robot, knocking it down. "GO!" He said to his friends and then they escaped before Chaos arrived, looking for Metal. 

"They went that way!" Chaos said, pointing as Metal stood up after the sudden attack. 

"After them!" Metal said, and then Chaos ran passed him, knocking the robot down again. 

"Whoops! Sorry, Metal." Chaos turned back and lifted the robot to stand up. 

"You'll be VERY sorry when I'm done with you! Get that hedgehog!" Metal yelled. 

They both ran into the direction of where Sonic had vanished and they stopped next to the merry-go-round ride with music playing and colorful lights blinking. Then to their surprise, they saw Sonic and his friends riding on the merry-go-round horses, having a fun time. 

"Yahoo!" Sonic shouted as he rode passed them and the others followed. 

"This is so much fun!" Amy giggled with Tikal riding beside her. 

"We're going nowhere." Rouge shook her head as she disappeared with them. 

"Happy trails!" Knuckles waved his hand and he vanished with the bat. 

"And Tails!" The fox said; riding right behind him and behind them all was Shadow. The black hedgehog was rather embarrassed and he snorted before he disappeared with the others. 

"That's the hedgehog! Get him!" Metal pointed toward the ride. 

"I'm on it!" Chaos said, and he hopped onto one of the fake horses, catching a ride. 

"Not that way, you crazy raindrop!" Metal covered his eyes with his hand, ashamed. The robot hedgehog stepped onto the ride and walked to find Sonic, but it was difficult with the loud music, the laughter of children and the bright lights, which seemed to surround him. He shook his head and focused carefully to find his wanted foe, but then suddenly, he heard a voice. 

"Wow! Look, everyone! It's Metal Sonic! He's real!" A boy called, happily and he pointed toward him. "You're my number one favorite character to be in _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle game!" He said, and stood beside the robot hedgehog without any fear.  _

"Huh? What on Earth are you talking about?" Metal asked, extremely confused. 

The boy's sister approached him, giggling. "I'm Amy Rose! Please kidnap me!" She squealed. And so Metal Sonic became surrounded with young fans while Chaos continued riding. 

But it was all in vain, because Sonic and his friends were well on their way back to the RV with the newly found map to help them. They returned back safely and Sonic carried Freeway in his green backpack until he reached the RV and then he drove them out of the city. After the circus escape, the RV moved on to the next adventure that was yet to come. Sonic knew the way. 


	22. Tomorrow for Chicago

**Chapter 22: Tomorrow for Chicago **

The city of Chicago in Illinois was dark with a touch of fog when the bright headlights of the RV entered the area. Sonic the Hedgehog, who was the driver of that home on wheels, made a safe stop to avoid the dangerous fog, which seemed to become thicker. He gripped the steering wheel after he stopped the RV, and then his eyes looked outside from the windshield. It was dark and quiet where he parked at a rest area for cars and trucks. The rest of the crew was asleep, all except for Shadow who sat in the passenger side chair to help navigate the driver. 

"Do you see anything?" Shadow asked in a whisper. 

"No, there's nothing but midnight as far as I can see. But we made it." Sonic whispered.

"Yeah," Shadow yawned, sleepily. "Well, since we're here and parked, I'll settled down. Goodnight, and don't let anything bite." Then he pulled a blanket over himself to sleep. 

"Goodnight, Shadow." Sonic said in return and then he removed his red sneakers. 

Sonic quietly turned and saw Shadow lay back on the passenger seat with his eyes closed. The blue hedgehog found his green blanket and covered himself after closing the RV's curtain. He rested his head against a pillow on the driver's seat, which was laid back for him to sleep. He turned left and right and left again, but he could not sleep. He felt cold all the sudden and kept the warm blanket over him, but for some strange reason, he could not go to sleep. 

"Shadow? Are you still awake?" Sonic asked him, whispering quietly. 

"I'm awake now." The sleepy voice of Shadow answered. "What is it, Sonic?" He asked. 

"I can't sleep." Sonic whispered, slightly sitting up to look at the black hedgehog. 

"Well, quit quacking like a duck and you may just go to sleep." Shadow yawned. 

"I'm not quacking and I'm not a duck." Sonic said, "I only told you the truth."

"Whatever. Goodnight again." Shadow closed his eyes, letting out a weak sigh. 

"Shadow?" Sonic was heard again, whispering. "You think the fog will leave in the morning?" 

"It'll leave right now, if you keep this applesauce up." Shadow replied, sleepily. 

"Shadow, is the propane tank empty?" 

"No, Sonic. I looked just this afternoon and we're doing fine on propane." 

"Shadow, since we're in Chicago, you want to see the city?" 

"Sure, why not?" 

"Shadow, are we out of milk again?" 

"Yeah, Freeway had her last drop for dinner. But we'll get more tomorrow." 

"Shadow, how many stars are out there in the sky?" 

Finally, Shadow sat up with his eyes opened. "Sonic, that's enough talking. You must have a million questions swirling around in that head of yours. It's nighttime, bedtime, dark and time to sleep. The day is over, gone and finished, but tomorrow will come in the morning, as always. It's now a time to be quiet, close your eyes and dream of something. Everyone in here is asleep and everyone out there is asleep. As the Ultimate Life Form, I need my ultimate sleep. The sun has gone to bed, and so must I." He stopped talking when he saw Sonic, sound asleep. 

"Finally." Shadow sighed quietly and he soon fell asleep also. 

= = = = = 

_Location: Chicago… _

The next day, in the morning when the sun finally shined again to bring a new day, Sonic and his friends awoke from a peaceful night of sleep and they were all rested, ready for another day on the road, and they were excited to be in Chicago. There was so much to see and so they did not waste time. When everyone was ready, Sonic began to drive the trusty RV again, entering the large city of Chicago and it was beautiful to see. Sonic stopped the RV, amazed at the sight. 

"Look at that!" Sonic said as he pointed toward the tall skyscrapers. 

Everyone came to the front of the RV, looking at the city with surprise. It was a nice day with a clear sky, so the clouds or fog could not corrupt the city's appearance. 

"This calls for a little celebration, now that we're here." Rouge the bat said, and she gave everyone a piece of her favorite bubblegum, fruit flavored, of course. 

"This makes us look American." Sonic said with a smile, and he began chewing it. _[Well, he is a SEGA character from Japan] _

Into the city of Chicago the RV went, wheels turning around and around, adventuring further and further. It was soon after their arrival when they reached the Sears Tower, which is so high, your very eyes would believe it is touching the sky. They stopped and visited the tower and of course, an adventure always seems to follow our blue blur heroic hedgehog. If not, he finds it. Sonic and his friends stopped to look outside a window, and the view was truly stunning. Sonic felt as if he was on top of the world. He stood on the tip of his toes to look further out. 

"Hey, hold still, everyone and I'll take a picture." Amy said with her camera ready. 

The team stood together, everyone in a pose with the window behind them for a good picture. Amy aimed her camera toward them and took a photo. She noticed that Shadow held two fingers up behind the head of Sonic, but Sonic was doing the same to him. Amy fought a giggle. Then suddenly, the lights inside the building shut off and everything became dark inside. 

"Heads up, guys! There's trouble boiling." Sonic warned them. 

"Maybe it's already cooked." Knuckles said, wondering. 

"Your goose is cooked." The voice of Metal Sonic said, in the darkness. 

"Metal!" Sonic growled and he took a step forward. "Everybody stand back! Nobody try to help me! I have to destroy this imposter!" Sonic ran and then he stopped in front of the robot. 

"Let's take this outside, road-hog!" Metal hissed, and he firmly gripped the arm of Sonic, dragging him outside a window before the others could reach them. 

"SONIC!" The team called out to him, but they heard no answer. 

"He's gone… Oh, he's gone." Tikal whispered, sadly. 

Shadow ran to reach the broken window where the glass was shattered on the floor, but then a strange puddle of water blocked his path and Chaos appeared in front of him. 

"It's you!" Shadow said, pointing toward the enemy. 

"Oh, yeah, it's me Chaos Zero the great, and now, while Metal finishes your friend out there, I have the honor to beat you up!" Chaos laughed, sinisterly and the team gathered to fight. 

"Time to rumble!" Rouge said, and she attacked first, kicking Chaos on the head. But she fell down backward when Chaos quickly placed a hardhat on his head for protection. 

"Smart. Brains." Chaos said, pointing up to his shielded head. Then from behind, Amy tried to hit him on the head with her hammer, but Chaos stretched out his arm and snatched it away, which suddenly flew toward a certain red echidna and it hit Knuckles on the head. 

"Goodnight." Knuckles mumbled and then he fell down on his back with his eyes closed. 

"Knuckles!" Tikal screamed and she ran to his side to help him. 

"What's the idea, you joker?" Shadow asked Chaos, angrily. 

"The idea is to defeat you and I'm not a joker. The joke is on you, black buster." 

"That's the last strawberry!" Shadow said, and then he attacked him with a hard punch. 

Chaos took a hit but he blocked the next punch with his hand. "It's a good thing I had Emerald Oats cereal for breakfast this morning. It makes me strong." Chaos chuckled. 

"No more Miss Nice Bat!" Rouge said, furious as she kicked him down from behind. 

Shadow backed away slightly, very surprised. "Oh, I'm so glad that's not me." He whispered. 

"Oh no! Oh, my!" Chaos cried in terror. "The white vampire bat returns!" 

"And there's no turning back!" Rouge said, "Take that, and this and that!" The bat fought hard and Chaos could not fight back because of one serious, very important reason, which was…

"I can't hit a lady! I'm helpless!" Chaos whined, falling to the floor and he vanished in a puddle. Chaos escaped for his life, but Rouge followed him, very angry as you can imagine. 

"Come back here so I can finish you off, you—Oh!" Rouge was stopped when Tikal and Amy grabbed her and pulled her back to Shadow. "Let me at him!" Rouge said, kicking. 

"Calm down, Rouge. He's gone now, and we must find--" Before Shadow could finish speaking, Metal came crashing into a nearby window with Sonic struggling under his deadly grip. 

"…Sonic?" Shadow gasped, and then Knuckles sat up, very dizzy.

"Hawaiian Punch, I think a hammer knocked me out." He murmured, holding his head. 

"Sonic, I'm coming!" Tails called and he reached him first but Metal stood up, choking the blue hedgehog with his strong hand. Tails stopped, gasping at the dangerous sight. 

"One more step, fox, and he's history!" Metal said, and he gripped Sonic by the neck tighter. He held Sonic up against the wall, and Sonic was desperately gasping for air. 

Then very suddenly and most assuredly not expected, Amy attacked the robot with her hammer, hitting him hard on the head, damaging him enough to free Sonic. The blue hedgehog fell to the floor, wounded and tried to breathe while Metal backed away, slightly damaged in the head. 

"Get him now, Shadow!" Tails pointed toward the robot, which was near the window.

Shadow attacked, doing his best and the robot was sent down and out of the window, far, far, far below and he never came back up the shattered window. Shadow turned from the window and he came to the others who were helping Sonic sit up and breathe. He was always quick to recover. 

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails asked, very concerned and Sonic coughed, leaning against the wall. 

"I've been better." Sonic replied; weak in his voice and Tails saw a wound on his shoulder. 

"Did you let him have it?" Shadow asked him, kneeling down.

"Yeah, I punched his lights out, but I took a beat with it." Sonic groaned. 

"We're so glad to have you again, Sonic!" Amy said, happily and everyone nodded. 

"Thanks, you guys. I'm really moved… but…" Sonic felt behind his back, but something was missing. He turned to his friends, pale in his face. "My backpack has been--"

"Stolen?" A voice asked from the broken window. 

The team turned and saw what they did not want to see. "Dr. Eggman!" They gulped all at once.

"HA! HA! I now finally have the Emerald and I'm off to concur the world! If you desire your prize, you must come to Detroit, if you dare!" The scientist laughed, leaving in his ship. 

"Sonic, the Emerald is not in there." Knuckles said, remembering. 

"But Freeway is!" Sonic cried, and he ran out of the tower with the team following close behind.

= = = = = 

The villain felt a sense of triumph at last, finally to have what he wanted, but you can only imagine his disappointment to see the wrong thing. Metal Sonic opened the green backpack and Chaos stood by when the robot hedgehog lifted not the Emerald, but a little baby deer. 

"What is this?!" Eggman asked, pointing with a finger when he saw Freeway. 

"Well, either it's a bad joke, or they're big-time Bambi fans." Chaos replied. 

"It must be a dirty trick!" Metal said, very disappointed. 

Freeway screamed and then she kicked Metal on the head. The robot held her still while Chaos tied up her legs to hold her captive, but then suddenly, the baby deer bit his hand. 

"Ouch!" Chaos yelled and he fell backwards to the floor with shock. 

"You two can't even handle an infant deer?!" Eggman asked them, surprised. 

"Muzzle her!" Metal commanded and Chaos tied the deer's mouth, keeping it closed. Freeway struggled and did not make things easy for her kidnappers. Metal locked her inside a cage and so then she could not escape. "You little beast!" Metal growled, turning away from her. 

"This could be very good…" Eggman thought of an evil plan, as always. "This long legged pest will be quite useful to us. The hedgehog will come back for it, mark my words!" 

Then Chaos held a yellow highlighter marker, looking up for any words. "Where are they?" 

"You stupid drool pit!" Metal hit Chaos on the head, and then he dropped the marker. 

"Ouch! Boy, I need a Aspirin." Chaos whined, holding his head. 

"I need a vacation, FAR away from you!" Metal said, still angry with him. 

"Enough! Both of you, stop it!" Eggman ended the war between them. "That miserable rodent will be forced to surrender the Emerald to me, or else…" He laughed out loud. 

It was quite a hopeless sight and the situation seemed to be fatal. But with a fast blue hedgehog like Sonic who loves adventure will without any doubt make the storm become a rainbow. Sonic, the world's fastest hedgehog had a goal to reach and he was determined to reach Detroit. There were obstacles he and his friends must overcome before they reach their goal. 


	23. Detroit Deliverance

**Chapter 23: Detroit Deliverance **

The drive was long and hard, but the faithful RV soon reached Michigan and they still had to make it to the city of Detroit, where the baby deer named Freeway was being held helplessly as a captive. Sonic the Hedgehog and his great friends adventured together into another challenge. It was nearly dawn when Sonic opened his eyes to another morning after hardly sleeping. He could not rest, knowing that his friend Freeway was in danger. She trusted him and his friends to protect her, and he could not let her down. He could not refuse to fight and he could not back down. But still, personally in his heart, he blamed himself for what happened. Shadow woke up shortly after Sonic began to drive the RV toward the city. He sat up, stretching and he rubbed his eyes. He saw how concerned Sonic was just by looking at his face. He thought of ways to help and then he thought that perhaps something to drink would be a nice start. He quietly stood up and Sonic did not even notice him. He kept his eyes on the street ahead of him, driving quietly. 

"Sonic, I brought you coffee." Shadow whispered, holding a cup next to the driver. 

Sonic only shook his head, no as an answer. He had not spoken a word for sometime. 

"Sonic?" Shadow asked him so he could hear his friend's voice. 

"No." Sonic finally answered with his voice, very quietly. 

"Sonic, don't do that. I think I know how you feel, but it was not your fault."

Then the RV slowly came to a stop on the side of the road. Sonic released a heavy sigh and hid his face in the steering wheel with his hands griping it. Then Shadow heard his voice again. 

"It was my fault…it's my fault…" Sonic whispered, sadly. 

Shadow placed the cup down and he laid a hand on his shoulder. He felt Sonic shiver slightly when his hand touched him, and then Sonic was still again. "We can't undo what's happened, Sonic, but we can make up for it." Shadow assured, trying to strengthen him. 

Finally, Sonic lifted his face from doubt and despair, and he faced the road with his courage and strength renewed. He forced a smile and looked at Shadow. "You're right, friend." 

"Of course, I am. We can do this, just as we have before. To us, it is part of our life." 

"I never quite thought of it that way." Sonic said, quietly and he turned away slightly. 

"Well, try to think about it, and drink your coffee while it's hot." 

"All right, Shadow. Thanks." Sonic whispered and he took a sip before driving again. He realized that when a mind doubts or when a heart is hurting, a good friend is the best medicine. 

= = = = = 

_Location: Detroit… _

The light of the morning tried to fight its way through the dark clouds in the sky, but it was useless. It was still dark when they made it to the city and Sonic wondered, dreaded if that meant a bad sign, a warning that they were entering a danger zone. The RV stopped and Sonic parked it away from harm before stepping outside to see the area where they were now. 

"I never thought Detroit looked anything like this." Sonic said, after he turned around, looking.  

"This place looks deserted, dusty too." Amy said, stepping beside him. 

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not a cleaning maid." Knuckles grinned. 

"I wonder where everyone is around here." Tails wondered with his voice. 

"Looks like they bailed." Rouge said, simply and she shrugged. 

"Maybe they've gone home because of the strange darkness." Tikal added. 

"Yeah, or worse, it could be Dr. Eggman up to no good." Shadow reminded them. 

"This is bad news." Sonic said, cautioning. "We should check it out, but be very careful, watch your step and stay in teams to help. I know we can do this together." 

"Now you're talking." Tails said, encouraged. He opened his laptop computer, looking at a map of the city. "This city is large and has many roads, but where Eggman could be, I don't know." 

"Maybe someplace where no one else goes, somewhere hidden." Knuckles guessed. 

Sonic nodded. "Right, an abandoned building could be what we're looking for." 

"What's that over there?" Amy asked, pointing toward a bridge. 

"That's a bridge for the subway trains." Tails replied, after looking at his computer screen. 

"Do they pass by here often?" Tikal asked, and she looked toward the bridge. 

"I'm not sure," Tails answered, "But I do know it's a fun way to travel." 

Sonic took a few steps forward while they were talking and he stopped next to a telephone pole. He stood and looked around the area again, but it was still dark. He wondered if a storm was coming and he thought of places to look for Freeway. He hoped that she was safe. Then suddenly, his thoughts were broken when he heard a familiar laughter. 

"You're very persistent for a hedgehog, aren't you? You came to Detroit alive." 

Sonic turned and saw Dr. Eggman on the bridge. "I die hard and hedgehogs are amazingly flexible fellows." Sonic said with a slight grin seen. 

"Let's find out how hard it really is to kill a hedgehog, shall we, Sonic? Now that you're here in Detroit, you will go no further because you will be destroyed when Terminator arrives!"     

"Say what?" Sonic asked, confused and his question was suddenly answered when a robot appeared in front of him. It was in the form of cobra with dangerously large fangs. 

"Jumping catfish! What on earth?!" Knuckles gasped with surprise. 

"It looks like we're in for a rough lunch hour!" Sonic said, and he bravely walked toward the robot to face it and Shadow was beside him. "Shadow, you must distract it while I go and stop its mouth. It's the fangs we have to watch out for." Sonic whispered a plan. 

"I understand." Shadow nodded his head.  

Sonic gripped his friend's hand, nodding in return. "Are you ready?" He asked. 

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Sonic." Shadow replied, and then they turned to face the cobra. 

"Okay, you go run ahead of me and keep him going in circles while I get on the head." 

"I won't fail." Shadow promised, and then he ran toward the robot. The cobra saw the black hedgehog run passed its face and it followed him, in circles as Sonic hoped for. 

Sonic ran toward the cobra's head, keeping behind it and he climbed onto its neck, holding on tight. The team watched as Sonic moved and clearly knew what he was doing. He soon reached the head, but then the cobra began to shake its head. Sonic gasped and held on tighter. He nearly fell off and then Shadow turned back, trying to make the cobra follow him again. 

"Run, Shadow!" Sonic called, warning him in time as the cobra began to chase him again. 

Shadow turned and began running again, using his air shoes and the cobra was right behind him. He ran in circles again and Sonic regained his balance on the robot's large head.  Sonic moved quickly as he tied the cobra's deadly mouth with a strong rope, and so the robot's fangs become useless when its mouth was kept closed. Then suddenly, the cobra stopped chasing Shadow and shook its head harder than before. Sonic fell off the head but he still had a good grip on the rope, so he was in for a ride he would never forget. He held on tight, swinging from the cobra. 

"Shadow! Look out!!" Sonic yelled as he swung toward him. 

"Sonic?!" Shadow's eyes widened with surprise as Sonic came toward him. Without quite knowing how, Shadow gripped the rope and away he went, up into the air with Sonic. 

"YIKES!" Sonic screamed as he flew right over the cobra's head, still hanging on. 

They both swung left and right, right and left, over and under the robot cobra. Then it happened so fast as the cobra crashed into a building's wall, damaging its neck and the hedgehogs saw it. They were both holding onto the rope for life while in this dangerous event. 

"Shadow, the neck is damaged!" Sonic told him, "It could be a weak point!" 

"Then let's go for it! I'll go first!" Shadow said, and with a jump, he flew toward the cobra's neck, aiming for the damaged area. With a great homing attack, he damaged it even more. He safely landed on the ground and he turned to look up. "Now it's up to you, Sonic!" 

Sonic waited for the right moment and when it came, he leaped into the air, toward the neck to defeat the enemy. He was victorious and landed beside Shadow. They watched the robot cobra fall to the street, destroyed because of their great teamwork. 

"Great work!" Sonic praised as he shook Shadow's hand. 

"This is impossible!" Eggman said, very upset. "My beautiful Terminator Cobra, ruined!" 

"Yeah, I'm famous for taking out your trash!" Sonic pointed toward the mad scientist. 

"You will regret this, hedgehog! You will pay greatly for this, all of you!" Eggman shook a fist, angrily and then he turned his ship around, leaving to escape.  

"Is he gone?" Knuckles asked, standing with the two hedgehogs. 

"Yep, and I won't miss him." Sonic replied, and then Metal suddenly appeared. 

"You again! You just don't give up, do you?" Knuckles asked him, furious. 

"Silence your dog, hedgehog!" Metal said to Sonic. "I will inform you of one thing. The next subway train has your pesky Bambi inside, and it will collide with another train on the way." 

"What? That will destroy it!" Sonic gasped with his eyes completely alert.  

"Correct." Metal nodded his head with his eyes glowing red. Then Metal turned and left and before Sonic could go after him, he saw the subway train, moving uncontrollably. 

"Freeway?" Sonic whispered and he began to sweat on his face. 

"That must be it, Sonic!" Tails pointed to it. "That's the subway we must get to!" 

"We may be too late!" Amy cried, covering her face with her hands. 

"No worries!" Sonic assured. "Speed is my middle name and danger is my game. Tails, give me a lift, and Knuckles, glide to the subway train and try to stop it. We'll meet you there!" 

"You got it!" Knuckles nodded and then he left, after the subway train on the bridge. 

"Shadow, take the RV out and meet us at the station." Sonic instructed him. 

"I'll do my best. We'll see you there." Shadow said, and they all went their ways. 

Tails flew up toward the bridge and Sonic held on tight. They soon saw the subway train and it was moving steadily but fast. Tails flew down; carefully making a safe landing on top and the wind instantly blew against them, hard and it tried to push them off. 

"Hang on, Sonic!" Tails called, closing his hand and hung on to stay. 

"We've got to find a way in!" Sonic said, closing his eyes to protect them. He opened his eyes slightly, took Tails by the hand and he crawled toward a window, a way inside. 

Meanwhile, in the control room, Knuckles climbed inside after fighting the wind out there and it was a relief to finally make it through. He was very surprised to see someone there already. 

"Hey, what took you so long?" Rouge the bat asked him, smiling. 

"How in the world did you get here?" Knuckles asked, failing to hide his surprised look. 

"Well, I have my own special ways." Rouge said, still smiling. 

"I'm sure you do, but right now, I must stop this train before it blows to China!" 

"That sounds easy. Just hit the breaks." Rouge said, simply turning to the controls. 

"Yeah, but where are the breaks?" Knuckles asked, scratching his head when he looked. 

"Whoops, I was thinking of a car, but this is nothing like it." Rouge gulped. 

"This is going to be a wild ride." Knuckles said, and then he began to think fast. 

Back to Sonic and Tails, they were able to find a window and climb inside the subway train. Sonic lifted Tails to his feet and they looked around. All the chairs were empty and no one was inside, it was silent until Sonic heard a small squeak. Could it be? Was it really? 

Sonic turned around and after a quick search, he found Freeway on the floor with her legs and mouth tied. He released her and then the small baby deer weakly climbed into his arms, nesting in his chest and he gladly wrapped his arms around her, sighing with great relief. 

"It's her!" Tails said, coming to his friend's side. "We found her, Sonic, and she's safe." 

Sonic said nothing but he kept his eyes closed, holding Freeway who nuzzled his cheek, gently. She was so happy to see him again and Sonic felt the same way. They were together again. 

"Sonic, are you all right?" Tails asked him when he saw a tear. 

"I'm not sure, Tails." Sonic answered, quietly. "I'm happy to see Freeway…and I'm crying." He opened his eyes and they sparkled like a wet emerald. "Maybe something is wrong with me." 

"No way, I think you're just fine." Tails assured him and he stroked the baby deer's head. They both laughed when Freeway smiled and blinked her eyes at them. 

Then they heard Knuckles in the control room. "Rouge, enough! Let me handle this!" 

"We should've stopped by now, but you have to be so stubborn!" Rouge snapped. 

"I'm telling you it's this one!" Knuckles pointed. 

"No, it's that one!" Rouge disagreed. 

"No, no, it's the other one!" Knuckles shook his head. 

"No! It's surely NOT that one!" Rouge gasped. 

"Then it's this one or nothing!" Knuckles took a chance and pulled. 

"Whoa!" Sonic yelled as he and Tails rolled toward the wall, uncontrollably because Knuckles had finally found the breaks. Somehow it seemed like a miracle when they stopped. 

"Hey, Sonic! I stopped it!" Knuckles said, proudly, stepping out of the control room with Rouge. 

"Are we having fun yet?" Sonic groaned with his back to the wall and Tails on a chair. The blue hedgehog stood up with Freeway and he led the way outside where Shadow was waiting for them in the RV. "Shadow!" Sonic called and he entered the passenger side. "After careful consideration I've decided not to tour Detroit." He said, breathlessly as he sat down. 

"So have I." Shadow agreed with him without doubting and he drove out of the city. 

Finally, after a daring rescue mission, Sonic and his friends were together again and Freeway was saved because of her heroes' deliverance and great courage. The team welcomed the smallest member of the group back into the RV with strawberry shortcake. Now leaving Detroit, the RV moved on, driving down the street and the sun shined down on it, giving a golden light. 


	24. Independence Day

**Chapter 24: Independence Day **

And so came the time and day for the RV to arrive in New York with Sonic the Hedgehog as the driver and with him were his friends. Together, they marveled at such a great City, the beauty of it and its power. But the crime and violence wanted to change that. Sonic heard another police car siren nearby and it was most likely another bank robbery. There were many cars in that City and he wondered why it was so crowed. Then he just remembered something. It was Independence Day and no place celebrated it like in New York City. Perhaps they came at the right time. 

"This is our next stop, guys." Sonic told his friends after he stopped the RV. "We're in New York and it's Independence Day." After he said that, Tails cheered, very excited. 

"Wow! Fireworks!" Tails was clapping his hands with a smile of delight. 

"Yeah, I think they fire them over the East River and it's really something to see." Knuckles said. 

"And let's see the Statue of Liberty!" Amy said after a little leap of excitement. 

"Hey, we're close to the water. Let's go out and see if it's there." Tikal said, hoping. 

"What? You think she walked away?" Rouge asked, fighting a giggle. 

"This is a very dangerous place," Shadow cautioned. "We must be careful." 

"Of course, Shadow." Sonic agreed. "I parked the RV here in a safe place, so let's go out and have a look. Maybe we can see the Statue from here." Then he opened his door and stepped outside. He was instantly amazed at the sight of the tall skyscrapers. 

Sonic and his friends were on foot and they soon came to the Harbor in Manhattan. Sonic could hear the wind blow softly and the water seemed to respond. It was like a musical tone. His friends gathered and stood with him as they gazed toward the water, and there was the Statue. 

"Oh, that is so amazing! It's something you can never forget!" Amy gasped with surprise. 

Then suddenly, behind them, they heard a voice. "I know. It's wonderful, isn't it?" 

Sonic and his friends turned around, but no one was there. But Sonic recognized the voice. He smiled and stood calmly, crossing his arms. "Okay, Scott, come on out!" He called. 

The others looked at each other; shrugging and they did not understand what he was doing. Then out of nowhere and yet from somewhere, a green hedgehog appeared and with a cunning jump, he landed in front of Sonic. His bright blue eyes were as the sky, his green colored quills were like a tree in the forest and his orange sneakers were warm from running in the street. He wore a black belt around his waist, which carried a powerful weapon. It was Scotty the crime fighter. 

"Hi, Sonic." Scotty greeted him and they both shook hands, smiling. 

"It's good to see you again, Scott. We're all traveling in an RV, and we dropped in here." 

"And you're just in time," Scotty told him, "It's Independence Day and everyone is preparing for the fireworks show. The view from up high is stunning so you can see the Brooklyn Bridge." 

"You know you're way around here, don't you?" Knuckles asked him. 

"Yes, I know this City like the back of my quills and the City speaks to me." Scotty replied, and then he introduced himself. "I'm Scotty Silas Staff, the hedgehog who is the anointed crime fighter of New York. I am the Knight and the Guardian of this place, but hey, call me Scotty." 

The team members shook his hand and Scotty was delighted to see them all. His appearance was much like Sonic, but his voice was different and his bright blue eyes were stunning. 

"What is that thing on your belt?" Amy pointed to the weapon, a midnight blue stick. 

"This is my Emerald Sword," Scotty explained and he gripped it with his hand while it hung from his black belt. "If I ever forget it or lose it, I will have no excuse. It has the breath, light and great skills of a crime fighter knight, which is what I was born to be." 

"Sounds legendary." Tikal said, astonished when she saw the bright emerald green laser shine from the midnight blue stick, which Scotty held in his right hand.

"It may be legendary to some, but to me, it is my calling and my promise." Scotty said, and then he pressed the button on the stick, then the laser sword vanished. Scotty placed his weapon back onto his belt. "You all must be hungry. It's passed noon, so how about a pizza lunch?" He asked. 

"That sounds delicious. It better be big, though for my crew." Sonic said, grinning. 

"Sonic, everything in New York is big and if not, it's bigger." Scotty reminded. 

"Then let's get the show on the road!" Tails said, and he ran passed them with Amy. 

Scotty laughed with the others and he knew it was going to be a great visit. The American flags were lifted for Independence Day in that great City and people prepared for the coming celebration. Sonic and his friends agreed to stay and their friend Scotty showed them around.

"This is one of my personal favorites," Scotty told them, "This is Central Park." He pointed toward the beautiful area where trees were green and beautiful. "Sometimes it's called the City's backyard," Scotty explained, "It has something for everyone. Come, you've got to see the Bow Bridge. It's a wonderful view of the lake." He led the way to the cast-iron bridge, which linked the Ramble with Cherry Hill with a graceful arch, 60 feet above the lake. "See?" He asked his friends, pointing toward it when they arrived at the place. 

"Wow, that's fantastic!" The girls gasped with wonder and surprise. 

"Awesome!" Sonic said as he gazed at the great view, one that was unforgettable.

"Really amazing, Scotty. This is a special place." Knuckles agreed. 

"I'm still not quite sure what's so great about staring at the water." Shadow shrugged. 

"It's really neat, but it's getting dark." Tails said, turning to face Sonic. 

"Maybe Scott knows a place where we can wait for the fireworks." Sonic said. 

"Yes, I know a great place. Come and we'll head back to Manhattan where we can see the Bridge, and the fireworks can be seen clearly from where I know." Scotty led the way. 

They soon returned to the Brooklyn Bridge and the City became dark. The lights shined brightly in Manhattan, light beams glowed on the water like the moonlight. It was truly remarkable. Sonic stopped walking and Scotty saw a grin appear on his face. The crime fighter smiled in return. 

"Hey, Scott, come on! I'll race you across the Bridge!" Sonic challenged him, playing. 

"That sounds like fun." Scotty nodded, yes. "I accept the challenge, my friend." 

"You must think fast, Green Lightning." Sonic reminded him, "I'm faster than fast." 

"I know, and how about Shadow? Maybe all three of us could go race." Scotty hinted. 

"That makes it even better. Hey, Shadow, will you come with us?" Sonic asked him. 

"Yes, this should be very interesting." Shadow answered, agreeing to go. 

"This is so cool!" Scotty cheered, happily. "It's Independence Day and I'm here on the Brooklyn Bridge to race with two of the greatest hedgehogs in the world!" He leaped for joy. 

"Thanks, and you're not so bad yourself." Sonic winked his eye at him. 

"So who's next?" Shadow asked and he stood ready to begin the race. 

"We are." Sonic and Scotty said together and then they stood with the black hedgehog. Scotty stood between Sonic and Shadow and they crouched down with their hands slightly touching the ground. Scotty lifted his blue eyes and he saw the Bridge ahead of him. 

Knuckles started the count down. "Ready?" He asked and after the three hedgehogs nodded, he counted: "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, GO!" 

And away they went, faster than the eye could see. Scotty was in the middle, running like the wind and the three hedgehogs ran with an equal speed. Now that it was dark, Sonic saw his light shoes glowing green at the heel while Scotty's was blue. Shadow ran amazingly fast with his air shoes and of course, as of before, they were all three a tie in the race. They laughed with enjoyment after the race and their friendship blossomed into a brighter color. The three hedgehogs found the others and together, they left to find the perfect place to see the fireworks. 

= = = = = 

Sonic and his crew could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the brilliant view from a tall skyscraper. They saw the Brooklyn Bridge and many were gathered to see the amazing fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day. Manhattan and Brooklyn were separate cities, but the Bridge changed that and linked them together. From where they stood, Sonic and his friends could see the Empire State Building. It stands as New York's most famous skyscraper, a symbol of the City and over the world. Ten minutes is all it takes for a fit runner to race up the 1,860 steps from the lobby to the 86th floor, in the annual Empire State Run-Up. The high-speed elevators travel up and down the tall building. It seemed like it was a City that never slept. 

"That's a wonderful skyscraper, Scotty." Amy pointed toward it, smiling.

"Yes, it is, and did you know the Empire State Building is a natural lightning conductor?" 

"No, I didn't." Sonic shook his head. "Is it struck often?" He asked. 

"It's struck up to 500 times a year, so the outside deck is closed during storms." Scotty explained.  

"Shocking." Shadow said, surprised in his eyes. 

"And what about the Twin Towers?" Knuckles asked, "Did you see it happen September 11th?" 

After a moment of silence, Scotty answered. "Yes, I was there…I was there." 

He turned from the others and he looked toward the place where the Towers once stood. An American flag was seen waving as the wind gently blew. He lifted his hand to his forehead, standing tall and silent as he saluted for the terrible loss. He closed his eyes to hide the tears and in his mind, he could hear the screams of those people, feel the ground tremble and see the Towers fall. He closed his right hand tightly until it began to shake, and then he felt Freeway nuzzling his leg. The New Yorker hedgehog slightly opened his eyes and knelt down to hug her and the little deer licked the tears away. The others smiled, glad to see a healing take place. 

"Thanks, Freeway." Scotty whispered and his eyes opened with hope restored. 

= = = = = 

While they drank a cup of hot chocolate to wait for the fireworks, the team was unaware that Dr. Eggman had a plan to ruin the celebration. He spun his evil plan like a spider web. 

"The world is mine!" Eggman laughed out loud when he arrived in New York with Metal Sonic and Chaos. "So, this is where that pesky hedgehog has gone to, in New York. That is perfect. Metal, Chaos, you go and find them while I shoot the fireworks. New York is doomed!" 

"What else is new?" Metal shrugged and Chaos did the same. 

"Hey, isn't this where Spider Man lives?" Chaos asked, standing taller to look. 

"You've been reading too many of those useless comics." Metal shook his head. 

"No, he's real and so is Luke Skywalker." Chaos insisted, crossing his arms. 

"I'm out of here!" Metal was clearly annoyed and he entered the City. 

"Hey, wait up, Metal! I'm coming with you!" Chaos called and he glided across the Bridge. 

"They better do something right for a change." Eggman said, before turning to his work.

= = = = =

"I sense a strange energy…" Scotty whispered and after he said the words, Metal and Chaos appeared on the same skyscraper from where the Sonic crew stood. 

"What's this? An American hedgehog?" Metal asked, and Scotty nodded his head, yes. 

"Red blood." Scotty replied and laid a hand over his heart. 

"Your American courage talk is sickening, you green weed." Metal mocked him. 

"Would you like to take me on?" Scotty challenged with his eyes burning. 

"We're here for Sonic and the Emeralds." Chaos told him, walking toward the blue hedgehog. 

"I don't think so, you villains!" Scotty stood, blocking the enemy's way to the Sonic crew and in his hand was his Emerald Sword weapon. The bright laser sword, which glowed as green, frightened and surprised the two invaders. 

"Yikes! It's Luke Skywalker and his Light Saber!" Chaos screamed, falling backward and crashing into Metal, and so they both fell from the skyscraper, into an alley's trash-dumpster. 

"Ouch! That was a fall and you failed again, goofy drip!" Metal growled. "We've got to get back up there to find all the Emeralds, get the hedgehog and destroy that cabbage patch!" 

"May the Force be with us." Chaos groaned and rubbed his wounded head. 

Meanwhile, on top of the skyscraper, Scotty turned to see and hear the Sonic crew clap and cheer. "Thanks, everyone. But who is responsible for this attack?" He asked them. 

Before Sonic could answer, a firework was shoot up into the sky and it formed the image of… "Eggman! Oh, that creep never gives up!" Sonic shook his head and then he looked up. 

"How did he manage to shoot his own fireworks?" Tails asked, gazing at the sky. 

"Yeah, and how did he make it so ugly?" Knuckles added, pointing toward the Eggman image. They watched until it vanished and then the night sky was the only thing seen. 

"This spells a big problem." Shadow concluded after thinking.

"Like what?" Rouge asked, wondering what the problem could be this time. 

"Like him!" Sonic pointed behind the others and they turned to see the mad scientist. 

"Dr. Eggman!" Everyone said his name, except for Scotty who stood silently. 

"Like ME!" Eggman proudly pointed to himself. "I'm so glad you enjoyed my firework show and there will be a lot more than that when I destroy the moon with my new and improved Cannon!" 

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked and he took a careful step forward. 

"Because I am such a great genius, I am now able to locate the five hidden Chaos Emeralds while traveling in my new Warp Saucer. That means you stand no chance against me!" He laughed and then he finished. "The City of New York will be torn to pieces when rocks begin to fall from the sky, and so I must say goodbye to you, troublesome blue cactus! It's my turn to laugh!" 

"I'll never let you!!" Sonic yelled as Eggman disappeared in his ship, leaving. 

"That guy has been giving you trouble?" Scotty asked, standing with his arms crossed. 

"Trouble and some, Scott. Now he could blow up the moon and crush New York!" 

"Never with me as the Knight of the City. There is still hope." Scotty assured. 

"Sonic! What now?" Knuckles asked the hedgehog. 

Silent at first, Sonic turned and looked at Shadow who was standing beside Scotty. "If we hurry and work together, we can make it rain on Eggman's parade!" Sonic said, and then he turned to Knuckles. "We'll need the Emerald to find the others before its too late." 

"We have only two," Knuckles told him, "The one we had first and the other was found in the desert, but the other five are still missing. We must travel fast to find them before him." 

"That's right," Shadow said, "We could warp so there is still a chance."  

"All the world's jewels will be mine." Rouge said, standing next to Knuckles. 

"Okay, let's do this!" Sonic said, and then he took an Emerald, holding it in his hand. Shadow held one Emerald of his own and they faced each other. "Can we really do this?" Sonic whispered. 

"Yes, I know we can." Shadow assured him, nodding. 

"Hang on, everyone!" Sonic called, "We're going to travel like never before!" And then together, Sonic and Shadow shouted, "Chaos Control!" Then they all vanished and Scotty was with them. It was indeed a traveling time they would never forget and another wild adventure was ahead. 


	25. Great Emerald rush

**Chapter 25: Great Emerald rush **

The Sonic team vanished with the RV in a bright light, leaving New York City to find the hidden Chaos Emeralds, which were five in number. Our great crew disappeared to travel and work together to reach victory. It would not be easy and danger would surely come in their path. In the meantime, we see Metal Sonic and Chaos step out from a dark alley after climbing out of the trash-dumpster. Metal threw a banana peel from off his head to the street, angry. 

"That American will pay greatly and the hedgehog will be destroyed!" Metal growled. 

"Oh, yeah!" Chaos said, nodding. "They disappeared and now we have to go after them in our Warp Saucer and find the hidden Emeralds before they get the chance." 

"I know that already!" Metal said, walking toward the ship. "I'm sure I can track down the Doctor using our ship's radar…" Metal began working inside while Chaos stood outside. He looked up toward a building and he was very surprised to see Spider Man swing passed him. 

"Uh…M…Metal…" Chaos gulped, pointing and trembling. 

"Be quiet!" Metal yelled, "How can I concentrate with a ding dong like you?"  

"I…I--I saw Spider Man!" Chaos said, but Metal shook his head with disbelief. 

"Nonsense!" Metal told him, "There's no such thing as Spider Man in New York." 

"But…but I…" Chaos gulped again. "I…um…I thought…I saw…" 

"Enough! We have to go now. I found the signal. Get in here, weirdo!" Metal called. 

"Okay, but I'm telling you that Spider Man is real." Then Chaos entered the small ship. 

"After what I've been through, I almost believe in Luke Skywalker, but I'll never believe in Spider Man." Metal said, "I'll have to see it to believe it." He took control of the Warp Saucer and then the ship vanished. The eyes of Spider Man watched them leave. 

"Those two are the strangest villains I ever saw." He said to himself before returning to his duty. 

= = = = = 

Now we find our heroes in the adventurous RV, which suddenly landed on the ground and everyone tumbled off their chairs, except for the driver: Sonic the Hedgehog. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as the RV bumped up and down, up and down again until at last, it stopped. 

"Whew!" Sonic breathed with relief when it finally stopped. 

"What a crash! That was a shocking experience." Knuckles groaned, sitting up. 

"At least we're alive." Tikal reminded everyone. 

"Yeah, we made it, but I wonder where." Amy said, fixing her red headband. 

"I could find out using my laptop computer." Tails began typing on his keyboard, searching. 

Rouge screamed when she saw her hand. "Oh no! Disaster! I broke a nail!" 

"So what? Nails grow back." Knuckles shrugged, simply. 

"What in New York?" Scotty asked, and he sat up next to Shadow. "Are you okay?" 

"I need some coffee." Shadow sighed, quietly. 

Sonic closed his eyes and rested his head against the chair for a moment and then Tails came to his side to tell him of their location. "Sonic, we're in Canada." He told him. 

"Canada, huh? Well, I'll go outside and have a look." Sonic stood up from the driver's seat and walked to the exit door. He opened it, but instead of stepping out he fell out. 

"SONIC!" Knuckles screamed and he caught him in time but Scotty had to catch the echidna. 

"SHADOW!" Scotty called; losing his grip as Knuckles was slipping away.  

"What's going on here?" Shadow asked, turning from the coffee machine. When he saw where they were, he and the entire team screamed. They were on a high cliff, which was quite dangerous, I must say, especially when trapped inside a RV, don't you agree? 

"I agree that this is NOT where we should've landed." Sonic said, after he recovered from the shock of nearly falling out of the RV and down the high cliff far below. Now they were inside. 

"Oh, dear." Amy whispered and she covered her mouth with her hands, shocked. 

"Uh-oh." Tails gulped and began searching for an answer with his computer. 

"What happened to us?" Scotty asked, after he caught his breath. 

"It looks like we traveled to the right location in Canada," Shadow tried to explain, "But I have no idea how or why we're on this cliff. There's no telling how far we've come." 

"Wow, maybe we time traveled and are at the time of dinosaurs." Tikal said. 

"Or maybe it's the future with hungry space creatures." Knuckles teased, rolling his eyes. 

"Help!" Tikal gasped and hid behind Rouge who was sitting on the sofa. 

"Never mind how we got here. We need to know how to get off!" The bat said. 

"Yeah, before this thing starts to--" Sonic gasped as the RV moved slightly. "…fall?" 

"Sonic, it—it's moving!" Amy screamed; closing her eyes and she squeezed him. 

"Release me!" Sonic cried for his life, struggling to free himself but she held on. 

"Hey, you guys, don't move or it'll tip over!" Knuckles warned. 

"H—E—L—P!" Sonic gasped for air as Amy held him tight, afraid. 

"If what I fear is the truth, the RV is going tail down." Shadow said, and then the RV suddenly moved backward, pointing downward and the team rolled to the wall uncontrollably. 

"Oh no! We're going down!" Scotty gasped with his eyes closed. 

"I—can't—move!" Sonic panted, still in the tight grasp of the frightened Amy. 

"Yikes!" Knuckles yelled, gripping the exit door's handle. "Hang on to something!" 

"Hang on to something!" Shadow repeated to the others. 

"Hold on tight, American! This is going to be rough!" Rouge warned the crime fighter. 

"I understand, but—Whoa!" Scotty yelled as the RV leaned down further and the team held on tight for life or else, they would face a deadly fall down the cliff below them. 

"This is fabulous! But next year, I plan the vacation!" Shadow yelled, shaking his head. 

"Don't—blame—me!" Sonic choked as Amy held him tighter, if that was possible.

"Whatever you do, Freeway, don't look down!" Tails said to the baby deer in his red backpack. Freeway blinked her eyes when she peeked out, but when see looked down she hid herself back inside, trembling. "There, you see?" Tails asked, and Freeway nodded her head. 

Knuckles risked it and looked down. Then he saw the back bedroom with the window closed below him as he held on. He looked up and saw the two front seats and the windshield. "I've got to get the Emeralds!" The red echidna said, and then as careful as he could be, he moved slightly.

Scotty was sweating as he watched him climb and Tikal gasped when Knuckles made it to the front seat. The female echidna suddenly lost her grip, screaming as she fell all the way down to the back window, which caught her to break her fall. She was down with her eyes closed and the glass shattered slightly. Thankfully, it held together to save her, but that would not last. 

"TIKAL!" Knuckles called when he saw her down there on the glass. 

"Don't move!" Scotty said, and he pulled out his Emerald Sword. "I'm coming, Tikal!" He pointed his Sword toward the passenger seat and the Sword shot forth a thin but strong wire, which wrapped around the chair. After testing it twice, Scotty moved from his safe place and holding on to his Sword, he made his way down to the back bedroom and to the window. 

"Oh…" Tikal moaned when she opened her eyes slightly and felt head pain. 

"Don't move, Tikal!" Scotty warned, coming down to reach her. 

Tikal froze when she saw and knew where she was, but she could not close her eyes. She trembled slightly, uncontrollably with fear and dread. Her heart thumped painfully and she began to breathe uneasily. Scotty remembered saving others in difficult situations and so he was prepared to quickly catch her in time, and he did so just before the glass broke.

Scotty held her with one arm and held his Sword with his other hand, watching the glass shatter until it became a broken window. Tikal screamed at the sight and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around the crime fighter's neck, but a little too tight for him. 

"Ah! T--Tikal, you're choking me!" He gasped; closing his eyes and tried to breathe. 

"Welcome to—the club!" Sonic choked, holding on to the table's leg with Amy holding him. 

Shadow shook his head and then he gasped when he saw the coffee machine falling away. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Shadow screamed and he reached for it just in time to save it. He placed it back in a safer place and gave it a few pats before holding on again to the sink. 

Everyone else rolled their eyes, surprised at the strange emergency and rescue. 

"Rouge, catch! Pass it to Shadow!" Knuckles called, tossing an Emerald to her. The bat caught it perfectly and then she passed it down to Shadow who was holding on to the kitchen sink. 

Then suddenly without warning, the RV began to fall down the dangerous cliff with the screaming team inside. Shadow closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Chaos Control!" 

The RV vanished into a bright light before falling to the ground to destruction. It was a few moments later when the RV reappeared and landed safely on firm ground, safe at last. When the dust settled and calm stillness came to be true, Sonic ran out of the RV, breathing the air. 

"I'm free! Oh, yeah, I'm free!" He shouted and jumped for joy. 

"Hey, we're alive and we're safe!" Knuckles said, laughing. 

"Where did Sonic go?" Tails asked, and he let Freeway out of the backpack. 

"He's outside taking a breath." Scotty replied and he placed his weapon back on to his belt. 

"Oh, Sonic! My hero!" Amy called and she ran outside to him, giggling. 

"Not again!" Sonic yelped and he ran for the trees. 

"Hey! Come back!" Knuckles called, running out with the others following. 

"Great, now my coffee is going to get cold!" Shadow groaned before running out. 

"Sonic!" Tails called, running to find him and Scotty was running beside him. 

Sonic suddenly stopped running when he heard the voice of Tails, and then suddenly, Amy caught him, hugging with a smile of delight and Sonic rolled his eyes, sighing. 

"Uh-oh!" Knuckles gasped and before he could stop, he crashed landed on Sonic, followed by Shadow, Tails and Scotty. They were running so fast; they could not stop in time. 

"How did I get myself into this? Why me?" Sonic asked himself. He opened his eyes and then he gasped when he saw an Emerald on a tree stump. "I found it!" He shouted and everyone jumped. 

"Found what? Your sense?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms with an angry face. 

"No! I found an Emerald! It's over there!" Sonic pointed to the tree stump. 

"Cool." Scotty said and he stood up to brush the dust off himself. 

"Well, that's one down and four more to go." Knuckles said with relief. 

"Think again, knucklehead!" A familiar voice said, and the team saw it to be…

"Dr. Eggman!" The crew said, standing with the tree stump between them and the scientist. 

"Yes, I have returned for revenge, but first, I want that Chaos Emerald!" Eggman pointed toward it and then he turned to the robot hedgehog. "Metal, get that Emerald!" 

"If you give me a raise." Metal said, jokily and then Eggman slapped him. 

"Now!" He commanded and then Metal shrugged. 

"Just wanted to ask." Metal said and with Chaos beside him, he turned to the jewel. 

But before anyone could reach for it, a little chipmunk appeared on the tree stump, no bigger than a bird and he had his eyes on the Emerald, thinking it was a delicious acorn to eat. Licking his lips, he snatched the Emerald and hopped away, happily. Everyone's mouth dropped open. 

"After that rodent!" Sonic said, and then he ran with his friends following. 

"Go after them!" Eggman commanded and Metal with Chaos ran, following the others. 

The hungry little chipmunk looked for a safe place to hide his newly found treasure, hopping from one place to the next, sniffing and when unsatisfied, he hopped to another location, seeking to find. He stopped and scratched on the earth's surface and shrugged, but then he turned to see a very nice place to bury his food for the winter. 'Perfect!' He seemed to squeak the word, and then he pushed and shoved the Emerald, trying to get it down and under, but then he heard someone. 

"Hand over that Emerald this instant! Give it to me!" Knuckles demanded, running. 

The chipmunk looked up with his eyes widening when he saw everyone after him. He screamed out with fright and then he ran with the Emerald, running as fast as he could. Scotty suddenly stopped running and he could see that it was useless to chase him, but what could be done? 

"Oh, why can't an idea just hit me?" He asked, and like an answer, something fell from a tree, hitting him on the head. "Ouch!" He rested a hand on his head, looking down to see an acorn. "I've got an idea!" The crime fighter snapped his fingers and ran another way with the acorn.

Meanwhile, the chipmunk carefully and silently tip toped behind a rock, but then, there was Metal. "Surrender or perish, fur ball!" The robot aimed a weapon toward the chipmunk, which screamed and ran for its life with the Emerald, escaping and avoided laser beam attacks. 

"There he goes!" Tails pointed toward a hilltop and Sonic with Shadow raced up there. 

The chipmunk, out of breath and sweating saw that he was trapped on the hill and he turned to see Metal, Chaos, Sonic and his crew coming toward him for the Emerald. After writing a small will on a piece of paper, the chipmunk jumped, riding on the Emerald down the steep hill below, surprising everyone watching. His screams faded into silence as he vanished in the mist. 

"How dramatic!" Sonic said, and covered his eyes, shaking his head, no. 

"Never mind that now!" Metal said, pointing toward the Sonic crew. "You're doomed!" 

"Metal?" Chaos asked, tugging his arm when he saw that they were covered with a shadow. 

"Not now, Chaos! Can't you see we're going to win the war?" Metal asked him. 

"But I see…" Chaos gulped, pointing above them, trembling. 

"No more Spider Man stuff! Nothing will stop us this time! Nothing!!!" Metal laughed. 

"TIMBER!" Chaos screamed and then a tree fell on them all the sudden after a busy beaver chewed its way down, working away and unaware that he saved the Sonic crew. 

"Hurry, team! Maybe we can still catch him!" Sonic called, jumping over the fallen tree. 

= = = = = 

After they climbed down the hill, Sonic and his friends found the girls and the RV, safe and sound. They turned and saw Scotty the crime fighter with the missing Emerald, which was now found. Scotty gave the Emerald to Knuckles and then he explained. 

"I gave the chipmunk an acorn instead." He told them, smiling and everyone sighed.

"Just imagine all the trouble we could've avoided if we just gave him a nut!" Sonic said. 

"How pathetic." Shadow shook his head, closing his eyes. 

"Well, at least we found it. Now we must hurry and find the others." Tails reminded. 

"Right!" Knuckles said; nodding and then he ran into the RV with the Emerald. Now with three of them, the RV once again began to travel with everyone safely inside. The enemy would be dangerously following them, but without doubting, Sonic reached out and hoped for victory. It was like a race and he wanted to finish it as the winner, just like always. 


	26. Into the deep

**Chapter 26: Into the deep**

"Oh, why did I ever leave Wyoming? Why did I ever have to go?" Sonic the Hedgehog sang as the RV came in for a landing. It finally stopped and it was very dark outside. "How's that?" Sonic asked with a grin, turning to his crew behind him who were still hanging on tight to something. 

"It was a fine landing. But please, don't ever sing that again!" Shadow begged. 

"What? Why did I ever leave Wyoming?" Sonic asked him, musically. 

"What an imposter!" Shadow growled and covered his ears, shaking his head. 

"Hey, no fighting!" Tails said, standing between the two male hedgehogs. He waited until the two sat down again, and then he said, "I found our location, and we're now in Maine." 

"Maine?" Everyone asked, surprised and Tails nodded his head. 

"That's way up there, far up North." Amy said, blinking her green eyes. 

"That depends on where you live, but right now, we're here." Knuckles said. 

"Well, I'll be…" Sonic began and then Shadow suddenly finished it for him. 

"A monkey's uncle!" He laughed and ducked down in time to avoid a playful push. 

"Boys." Rouge snorted, shaking her head with her arms crossed, sitting down. 

"Hey, everyone, I see the ocean out there!" Tikal pointed out the window, excited. 

"But then that means we're on a beach, in the sand!" Knuckles realized. "Sonic!" 

"You got a problem?" Sonic asked him, sitting calmly in the driver's seat. 

"Yeah, and it could be you! How dare you land us on the beach? We're toast!" 

"Whoa, chill out, Knuckles old pal. I think everyone needs some sleep before you blow your top." Sonic said, and he gently made the echidna sit down. "You all find a spot and get some rest." 

"But what if Dr. Eggman comes while we're all asleep?" Amy asked, frightened. 

"Well, I'll stay awake on the roof." Scotty answered, quietly and he opened the door. 

"All night?" Sonic asked him, surprised at the crime fighter's plan. 

"All night." Scotty repeated and then he closed the door. He was gone and outside. Sonic hardly heard the thud above him when Scotty climbed to the top of the RV to watch for any danger. 

"He's a good soldier. I'll go out and join him." Shadow whispered before leaving. 

Sonic sighed and weakly climbed back into the driver's seat, pulling his blanket to cover himself. He rested his head on the pillow, closing his green eyes to rest after a wild landing. The crew settled down for their needed rest, sleeping until the morning would call them to rise and shine. Above the RV, Shadow and Scotty stood as the watch hedgehogs until daylight. 

= = = = = 

Not too far away, the Warp Saucer of Dr. Eggman appeared and landed on firm ground. The darkness and the sounds of ocean waves were like messengers saying this is Maine. Eggman looked at his map on a computer screen in front of him and it was confirmed, true as a fact. 

"Ha! Ha! Here I am in Maine and I'm the greatest scientific mind, wouldn't you say?" He asked himself and then he heard Metal Sonic through his ship's communication system. 

"Where in San Diego are we?" The robot hedgehog's voice asked. 

"Not San Diego, you aluminum foil brain! We are located in Maine." Eggman corrected. 

"Hey, that rhymes!" The voice of Chaos chuckled in the background. 

"I should slug you!" Metal growled, angrily but then Eggman stopped him. 

"Silence!" Eggman commanded. "Metal, I have picked up a signal from the missing Emerald, and this one is hidden somewhere in the ocean. It must be found before the hedgehog finds it." 

"As soon as I land this ship, I shall make hay, boss." Metal obeyed. 

"How can you make hay on the beach?" Chaos asked the robot. 

"That's only a saying, dipper!" Metal yelled, and then Eggman turned the communication off. 

"I feel a headache coming on." The scientist let out a sigh, holding his head. 

Meanwhile, somewhere on a shore, Metal Sonic and Chaos climbed out from their ship after landing, and they saw the ocean. It was very dark with no one around. The moon shined on the water and the wind blew softly to make the ocean waves move in a musical way. 

"Oh, I should've brought my swim shorts." Chaos sighed and he shrugged. 

"Gross!" Metal coughed and shook his head. "We're here to find the Emerald, not swim!" 

"I'll have to do both to find it, so there." Chaos crossed his arms, nodding. 

"Just get in there, you--" Metal tried to throw a punch at him, but Chaos vanished in a puddle of water and escaped into the ocean. "I hate it when he does that." Metal whispered. 

= = = = = 

The next day, the morning arrived with a new beginning. But the clouds above made the day still seem dark. Knuckles was the first to begin seeking for the Emerald under the water. Rouge soon followed after changing into a purple swimsuit while Tikal wore a green swimsuit. Sonic and Tails began to work on changing the oil for the RV and making sure everything was in working order. Amy stood close to the ocean shore with dry towels, waiting for any news from the three treasure hunters who were swimming. The red echidna soon came up for air, close to shore. 

"Knuckles!" Amy called and offered him a dry towel. Knuckles only wiped his face. 

"Thanks, but this is a lot tougher than I thought it would be." Knuckles said, breathing. 

"Just take it easy and do your best. You can do it." Amy encouraged the treasure hunter. 

"I know. So long for now." Then Knuckles dived back under water, swimming. 

Now when we turn to see Sonic and Tails, the blue hedgehog was under the RV, whistling the song: _Escape from the City as he worked. Tails was down there with him, helping. _

"Hey, Sonic, you think Knuckles and the others are doing all right?" Tails asked. 

"Yeah, I'm sure they're fine, little buddy. They do their part and we do ours." 

"Do you think we'll run into any trouble?" Tails asked him, concerned in his voice. 

"No way, don't worry." Sonic said, and he thought to himself, _'But trouble could run into us.' _

"Maybe you're right, but I was just thinking of what happened before." Tails said, quietly. 

"Tails, I won't let anything happen to you or any of the others. You got that?" He asked with a smile while looking into his eyes and then Tails nodded his head, yes, smiling back at him. 

= = = = = 

Back on the shore, Rouge and Tikal came back for air and they dried their faces with Amy's dry towels. They rested for a moment on a rock, but then Rouge felt something on her foot. 

"Hey, something's on my foot…" She said and lifted it out of the water to see. 

Amy screamed when she saw it was a lobster, holding on to the bat's toe. "An octopus got you!" 

"An octopus?!" Tikal gasped with her eyes widening. 

"Hold still, Rouge! I'll get it!" Amy took her hammer and lifted it to bring it down and on the lobster, but the fearful sight of the hammer made the lobster flee away into the water. 

"Amy, STOP!" Tikal screamed and held the hammer back. "It's okay! It's gone!" 

"Good and it better not come back." Amy said, gently placing her hammer down again. 

"Thank goodness." Rouge sighed with relief, holding her foot. 

"Are you hurt, Rouge?" Tikal asked her and she looked at the foot for any wounds. 

"Nah, it takes a lot more than that to hurt Rouge the treasure hunter." The bat winked. 

"Then let's continue. We still have to check the deeper side over there." Tikal pointed. 

"Into the deep should be fun. Here we go!" Rouge said, and into the water the bat dived. 

She swam toward the unexplored area, but she did not see Knuckles around. She stopped for a moment and signaled for Tikal to go left while she would go right. Tikal nodded her head and swam the way she was shown and Rouge swam the other way, seeking under the water. It was blue, clear and beautiful in that underwater world and it seemed peaceful, but the bat did not see a deadly shark watching her. Following its predator ways, it began stalking her. 

Rouge suddenly stopped at the sight of something green. _'The Emerald!' She thought, and it was so. She moved to swim toward it, but then the shark suddenly made itself known. It swam around her and Rouge saw it. Rouge froze for a moment with shock at its large size. Then without a warning, the shark turned to attack her and she backed away until she was trapped against a large rock. She felt dizzy from lack of air and closed her eyes, wishing it were only a nightmare. She opened them again to see the shark coming right for her, but then Knuckles appeared and punched the predator's nose, throwing it away from her. Rouge watched in horror as the shark turned again to attack the echidna. Rouge shook her head, no and tried to move, but she was slow underwater and she needed air badly. __'Knuckles!' She called him, screaming in her mind. _

Knuckles punched the shark again, but then he took a hit and crashed onto a rock underwater and the shark angrily came toward him. Before the shark could attack him, a certain dolphin with the name of Ecco appeared and attacked the shark, pushing it away from the red echidna. The shark faced failure and swam away, not turning back and Knuckles lifted his thumb to Ecco before he left the area. Then Knuckles quickly turned to Rouge and pulled her up to the surface.

They both gasped for air and then they coughed. Knuckles reached for a rock and gripped it for support with his arm still around Rouge who was weak and shaking. 

"You crazy echidna," She said, breathlessly, "You could've been killed down there." 

"Look who's talking." Knuckles said, still breathing heavily. 

Rouge shook her head, but she did not know what to say. She could not think. She felt herself shaking and realized how heavy she felt after the swim. It was strange to her in a way, but she felt safe in the echidna's arms. When she experienced a frightening flashback of the deadly shark, she buried her face in his shoulder. She was glad her face was wet so he would not notice a tear on her cheek. But Knuckles somehow knew and he stroked her head to comfort her.

"It's okay, it's all right now." Knuckles said, gently and his tender voice surprised her. 

Then Rouge tried to change the subject. "But the Emerald is still down there."

"I know that perfectly, but are you all right?" Knuckles asked, quietly. 

Rouge breathed deeply before she could answer. "Yeah, I think so." She sniffed. Then she turned to face him and his face was still shining with water. "You risked your life to save me. Why?" 

"Because I'm responsible for you and Tikal while in this mission…and I care." He answered.   

Rouge had her eyes closed when he was speaking and after he finished; she slowly opened them, meeting his in a soft gaze. Knuckles swallowed as she came near his face and then she greatly surprised him with a kiss on the cheek as a silent _'Thank you.' After that, they heard Tikal. _

"Knuckles, Rouge, I've got the Emerald over here!" Tikal called, not too far away. She held the jewel in her hand for them to see. "It wasn't very hard to get down there." 

Knuckles and Rouge just smiled, keeping the secret. But then suddenly, Tikal screamed as something pulled her down underwater. She disappeared with the Emerald. 

"Tikal!" Knuckles called, but she did not answer and never came up. "Something's wrong!" Knuckles realized and he placed Rouge on the rock before diving underwater to find Tikal. 

When Knuckles came underwater, he saw that it was Chaos trying to take the Emerald, but Tikal fought back. The enemy finally realized he had to take her with it so he held the female echidna and took her away while she struggled in vain. Knuckles swam faster and he quickly reached Chaos, blocking his path. Chaos held Tikal with one arm and used his other to punch Knuckles, but he escaped the attack and gave Chaos a hard kick, forcing him to free Tikal and the Emerald. Knuckles push Tikal away to safety, but then Chaos came back and dragged Knuckles deeper underwater to drown him. Knuckles was pushed against a rock while Chaos held him tightly by the arms and the echidna could hardly move. He needed air desperately, but the enemy would not let him go. Before Knuckles could close his eyes with hopelessness, Rouge came out of nowhere and kicked Chaos away with her black boots. She hit him hard and Chaos fled from her. 

Rouge took Knuckles by the hand and together, they swam to the surface for air and they breathed when they reached it. They found Tikal on a rock, safe and sound with the Emerald. Unharmed and with victory as theirs, the three treasure hunters began their journey back. 

= = = = = 

"They should've been here by now." Sonic said, tapping his restless foot. 

"I wonder what's keeping them." Tails said as he looked toward the ocean, thinking. 

"They could be in trouble." Amy said with concern. "They haven't been back yet." 

"Maybe we should…" Before Sonic could finish, he saw Knuckles, Rouge and Tikal with the Emerald coming on shore to dry land. "Hey, they're back! Come on!" Sonic called and he ran to meet them with Tails and Amy following him. "Knuckles, good job!" Sonic cheered. 

"I wasn't alone." Knuckles said; smiling at him and the others were confused. 

"What are you saying?" Tails asked him, curiously. 

"I'll tell you guys all about it later, but for now, we have to go. Chaos is not far away." Knuckles answered, and then the team entered the RV together and the door was shut. As we watch the RV of our crew depart, we hear voices inside it, familiar voices talking to each other. 

"Now this time, don't make a mistake and crash land on a beach." Shadow reminded him. 

"Yeah, and don't ever do that cliff thing again!" Knuckles added, and then Sonic sighed. 

"I never make mistakes in my landings," Sonic assured. "Just watch and learn." 

"Live and Learn!" Shadow corrected him and then he began to play the song, using the CD player. The RV traveled onward, continuing in the journey to the next stop. Knuckles and his two fellow treasure hunters had a whale of a tale to tell the others, which they did. There was a road to explore and Sonic the Hedgehog with his adventurous heart wanted to see the way clearly. 


	27. Connecticut crisis

**Chapter 27: Connecticut crisis ******

It was a nice sunny afternoon in Connecticut with no troubles around. The wind was calm and there was stillness, but all that changed when the RV of the Sonic crew arrived in search of a missing Emerald. Treasure hunting was not quite the blue hedgehog's style. He liked running better and that is what we now find him doing. He had parked the RV in a safe location and now he is found racing with Shadow. They came to a stop when they saw Tails in his Cyclone ship. The fox had been on the lookout for anything unusual, but he found nothing so far. 

"Tails, where is Knuckles and the other treasure hunters?" Sonic asked when Tails stopped. 

"They're still searching the area downtown, but I wonder if we came to a dead end." Tails replied, and then he added, "The hidden Chaos Emerald was last seen close-by here." 

"But where?" Sonic wondered quietly and he closed his eyes in thought. 

"Well, somewhere between here and there." Shadow answered, but unsure himself. 

"Very smart of you, Shadow." Sonic said with a tone of disappointment. 

"Thank you." Shadow grinned and then Sonic rolled his green eyes. 

"I think the parks around the area will be a good place to start looking." Tails said, after thinking. 

"Okay, let's check it out." Sonic agreed and then he ran again with Shadow. 

"Hey, wait for me, Sonic!" Amy called and she tried to run after him, but he was already gone. "Oh, I hate it when they leave me behind!" She felt disappointed.  

"Don't worry, Amy," Tails said to her, "I'll let you ride in the Cyclone even if you're no good at treasure hunting." After he said that, Amy turned to him with an upset look on her face. 

"What? How dare you say I'm no good?" She asked, sadly. 

"Sorry, Amy." Tails apologized, and then he said, "We can start looking right away." 

"That would be super nice, and you're so sweet to let me ride, Tails!" Amy giggled, happily. The young fox blushed and then he helped Amy climb up and into the Cyclone. 

"Be very careful when you reach the city." Scotty cautioned them, standing by. 

"We will, but where will you be, Mister Scott?" Tails asked the crime fighter hedgehog. 

"I will be with Knuckles. Signal if you need help. I'll be there." Scotty answered, leaving. In the meantime, Tails and Amy left the other way in the Cyclone ship to seek out and find. 

= = = = = 

_Meanwhile…_

Sonic and his crew searched the area, together in teams and helped each other in their work, but they did not know that Dr. Eggman had arrived in his ship. With the mad scientist was Metal Sonic and Chaos and they came to the area where the Emerald was hidden somewhere. 

"At last, we found the location," Eggman said, "Here in this area, the Emerald should be found. I'm sure the hedgehog is already here with that useless RV, but he will be stopped." He began to drive his ship away to look for Tails in the Cyclone. "You two get to work and don't fail!" 

"Yeah, we can dress up as cops and give them a speeding ticket!" Chaos suggested.  

"Bad idea." Metal shook his head, no. "We can destroy them with one blow." 

"How?" Chaos asked, turning to the robot. "Are you going to blow their house down?" 

"Never mind!" Metal said, and then he began to set up a trap for the hedgehog. 

"Oh, what is that, Metal? Is it a jump-rope?" Chaos asked, pointing. 

"No, it's a trap to capture the hedgehog. It's very simple. When he runs by, he will see the fake Emerald I placed in the center here." Metal explained, "When he stands there, we will cut the rope and he'll be smashed into a Sonic pancake!" He laughed, pointing to the heavy rock above them, which was held by the strong rope, tied to a tree and the fake Emerald was on the ground. 

"Not bad, Metal. It might work." Chaos nodded and then he clapped his hands. 

"Yeah, I am very scary, you know." Metal said, proudly. 

"Hey, I think I hear him coming right now." Chaos whispered and he did not move. 

"Perfect, then let the party begin." Metal whispered and he hid behind the tree.

"You didn't tell me about any party. Where are the balloons?" Chaos asked, quietly. 

"They're in your head, silly. Just do your job and do it right for once in your life." 

"What is my job? What should I do?" Chaos asked him, shrugging. 

"Cut that and we smash Sonic." Metal pointed to the rope. 

Chaos held his scissors and looked at the rope, then at the rock above. "Will it hurt him?" He asked. 

"No, it will hurt him a lot, and that's what we want." Metal said, annoyed. 

"Look, he's coming." Chaos whispered, and they both remained hidden, watching. 

Sonic the Hedgehog ran like blue lightning until he came upon an Emerald. He did not know it was a fake and a trap set for him. Shadow stopped beside him and then he saw it also. 

"Well, look at that, Shadow!" Sonic pointed toward the jewel. "Looks like we found it." 

"But why would it be here in the middle of plain sight?" Shadow asked. 

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know, but it's ours now. Knuckles will be jealous." He chuckled. 

"Don't go over your head." Shadow warned, "It could be a trick, you know." 

"Only one way to find out." The adventurous Sonic grinned and before Shadow could blink, the blue hedgehog ran passed the trap and returned with the Emerald, unharmed.

But Shadow noticed something wrong. "Hey, it's a fake!" He pointed to it. 

"Wait a minute. I thought we agreed to never call each other that again." Sonic reminded him. 

"Not you, the Emerald. But I'm still the Ultimate and you are not." 

Sonic yawned, playfully teasing him. "Well, it was fun to catch it, even though it was nothing but a fake. Now it's time for me to catch YOU!" Sonic pointed to Shadow and he began to chase him, laughing. "I promise you revenge!" Sonic tried to mimic Shadow's voice, but failed. 

"Hey, that's my line! You can't do that!" Shadow said, still running from him. The two hedgehogs disappeared over the hill, racing together in a challenge. But the trap failed.

"What a shame! I don't know what went wrong. I cut the rope." Chaos said and then he stepped out to where the fake Emerald was on the ground. "It must be a goof." He shrugged. 

"You fool, get outta there!" Metal yelled, but it was too late. The rock suddenly fell and crashed down, smashing Chaos. Metal covered his eyes to avoid the sight. Then he heard a voice. 

"Here I am, Metal. Did you miss me?" Chaos asked him, standing and not injured. 

"Yeah, as much as I miss my rust." Metal replied. 

= = = = = 

As we travel down the road to a park, we find the Cyclone of Tails and he was the pilot of it with Amy as the passenger. They had looked all around the park, but still, they found nothing. Tails kept his courage, though and he would not give up. Anything is possible, he thought. Tails stopped the Cyclone for a moment and he looked around the open area. 

"I just don't understand," Tails said with wonder, "I'm picking up the Emerald's signal very close to us here, but there is no sign of it. Maybe we made a wrong turn somewhere." 

"Maybe it's playing hide and go seek." Amy said, after thinking for a moment. 

"I'm not so sure about that," Tails said, "The Emerald cannot move from its location." 

"But I can move it!" A voice said behind them, laughing. 

Tails turned the Cyclone and faced Dr. Eggman in his ship. "It's you, Dr. Eggman!" He gasped. 

"And look, he's got the Emerald!" Amy pointed with a finger. 

"You are correct, young lady." Eggman said with pride. "And now, fox-boy, you will surrender all the Emeralds to me, and I'll let you live. You have my promise." He grinned. 

"What makes you think we trust you?" Tails asked, while trying to think of something. 

"Yeah, you must have broken more promises than your overgrown toys." Amy added. 

"That is an insult!" Eggman growled, furious. 

"But it's the truth, Eggman. I will not surrender and you'll get nothing from us!" Tails said. 

"Then you will perish! Arm weapons and attack!" Eggman moved his ship toward the fox. 

"Oh, Tails, what now?" Amy cried, frightened in her voice. 

"Stay back, Amy! Just leave it to me!" Tails said, and then Amy ducked down for cover. "Cyclone engage!" Tails moved his ship forward to attack the intruder. 

"Do you really think you can defeat me?" Eggman asked him, angrily. 

"Nope, I know I can!" Tails bravely challenged. 

"Fire!" Eggman shot his cannon toward the Cyclone, but Tails avoided the attack and then he fired his weapon toward Eggman's ship, which was a perfect hit. Eggman growled, angrily and he aimed for the Cyclone again with his cannon. "You're a perfect target for me now, fox!" He pressed the dangerous button to fire, but something went wrong. It would not fire. 

"What the—what's going on? Why doesn't the cannon fire?" He asked himself, confused. He looked at his ship's computer screen and then he gasped. "Oh no! There's a bug in the program!" He pointed to the image of a cartoon bug on the screen with shock. He turned to his enemy, Tails. "This time I'll let you go. But when we meet again, you won't be so lucky!" He turned and left the area in his damaged ship, leaving Tails as the victor of the battle. 

Tails closed his right fist tightly, watching him leave. Then Amy slowly peeked out. "Oh, wow! That was truly amazing, Tails! You actually defeated him!" She cheered. 

"Not really. I just ran him off." Tails said, calming himself down. 

"And look!" Amy pointed to the ground in front of them. "He dropped the Emerald! It's ours!" 

"Great!" Tails finally smiled with a sense of victory. "Then bring it along and let's go!" 

= = = = = 

Like a worried parent, Sonic walked forward and back, forward and back again at the meeting place. Everyone was there, but not Tails and Amy. They had not come back and Sonic wondered if they were in any kind of trouble or if danger had fallen on them. He walked faster. 

"Sonic, you're going to make a huge crater in the ground if you keep that up." Knuckles said. 

"They're not here. Where are they?" Sonic asked, restlessly. "If they don't show--" 

Before he could finish, Scotty stood in his way, stopping him. "Sonic," He said, gently, "There's no need to worry. I sense no danger. They're both safe, I just know it." 

"Easy to say, Scott. But I want them back here and safe." Sonic said, firmly. 

"Sonic, we're back!" The voice of Tails suddenly reached him. 

"Tails!" Sonic called and he quickly turned around to see his friend in the Cyclone with Amy and the Emerald. They were safe and he was very glad. "Tails, you're safe!" Sonic leaped into the air and he ran until he reached the young fox. "You had me worried for a moment, little bud." Sonic whispered in his ear as he hugged him. 

"Sorry, Sonic. But we found the Emerald." Tails gave it to him, smiling. 

"Having you back is the important thing. Good job." Sonic whispered, smiling in return. 

And so it came to be that the RV moved once again, off into another adventure and wonder. The crew was safe on board together inside and before the sky darkened, they were out of the city. 


	28. Work of art

**Chapter 28: Work of art**

The traveling RV of Sonic and his crew drove through a thunderstorm with rain pouring down in New Jersey. It was very dark outside and Shadow was the driver while Sonic the Hedgehog rested in the passenger seat. He watched in silence as the raindrops rolled down the windshield of the RV, trying to escape the wipers. Then he closed his eyes with a sigh, resting in the chair. 

"That was a heavy sigh." Shadow whispered. His ears just had to notice everything. 

"Yeah, so what?" Sonic asked him, weakly and he kept his green eyes closed. 

"Why was that a heavy sigh?" Shadow asked, seeking to know his troubles. 

Sonic was silent for a moment and then he answered. "I guess I'm tired." 

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Shadow asked, keeping his eyes on the wet road. 

"I slept back in June." Sonic said, shifting in a more comfortable place in the chair. 

"You have a headache." Scotty said, quietly from the passenger's side. 

Sonic opened his eyes with a surprised look. "How did you know that?" He asked.

"I just know." Scotty answered, simply. He gave him some medicine to help. 

"Thanks, Scott." Sonic whispered and then he finished drinking the small cup of water. 

"You're welcome. Now you rest and take it easy." Scotty then returned to his chair. 

"We should arrive in Pennsylvania in the morning and I hope this storm will be gone by then." Shadow reported and Sonic listened, nodding his head but he said nothing. Shadow continued driving and as he hoped for, the storm began to clear. When the morning came, Shadow saw the sign that said, _Welcome to Pennsylvania. They made it through the storm, safely. _

= = = = = 

_Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…_

Into the city they entered, driving the RV and the eyes of our crew could not help but to stop and stare with surprise and total amazement at the city of Philadelphia. Its beauty captured their imagination and because it was still dark that morning, the city lights continued to glow, and some even sparkled like stars in the night sky. It reminded them of New York, somehow. Tails confirmed the location, using his laptop computer and he reported the information to Sonic. 

"You got the Emerald's signal yet, Tails?" Sonic asked his friend with the computer.

"I sure do, and it's coming from the Philadelphia Museum of Art." Tails answered. 

"Where is that?" Shadow asked, being the driver.

Tails looked up the information and then he answered. "It's over at 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway." He pointed to the map, which was on his computer screen. 

"What?! I just passed it!" Shadow gasped, gripping the steering wheel tighter. 

"Just turn!" Sonic said, trying to stay calm, but that was not always easy. 

"WHOA!" The crew screamed as the RV made a sharp turn. 

"Shadow, what are you doing?!" Sonic asked, after recovering. 

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm driving!" Shadow replied, annoyed. 

Knuckles gathered enough courage to let go of his tight grip. "You know," He said, after taking a breath of relief. "We should keep a sign outside the RV, saying, 'Dangerous Black Hedgehog on board.'" After he said that, Sonic laughed and Shadow blushed. 

= = = = = 

_Meanwhile…_

To many, Philadelphia is a lovely place and who can doubt that? But the villain Dr. Eggman, the mad scientist had a master plan, he wanted to put it to work and claim victory as his. Metal Sonic and Chaos had also arrived in Philadelphia, in their Warp Saucer. 

"We have arrived in the city called Philadelphia. Location, confirmed." Metal reported.  

"Oh, raspberries." Chaos shrugged and sighed. "I thought it was Dinotopia." 

"There's no such thing!" Metal said, completely annoyed. "I rather work with a porcupine!" 

"Where are you gonna find Porky Pig around here?" Chaos asked. 

"I'll freeze you into an ice cube, if you don't keep that mouth closed!" Metal threatened. 

"But then the Doctor will turn you into a toaster!" Chaos reminded him, defending himself. 

Then Metal gasped with terror. "Oh, that's horrifying!" 

"Tell me about it. But hey, we better contact him now and let him know we made it." 

"Acknowledged." Metal said and then he began typing on the computer's keyboard.  

"Egg knowledge? What does that mean?" Chaos asked the robot, confused. 

"It means I understand you! But now, I'm not sure if I do!" Metal growled, frustrated. 

"Oh." Chaos said, simply and he watched in silence as Metal contacted the scientist. 

"We are in the city, Doctor, and are awaiting your orders." Metal reported to him. 

"Perfect," Eggman said, "The targets will be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art." 

= = = = = 

_At this moment…_

"I feel like a target." Knuckles said as he stepped outside the RV with the others. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Knuckles. Who would ever hurt an echidna like you?" Sonic asked. 

"Oh, yeah. I see what you mean." Knuckles nodded, and then he placed his sunglasses on. 

"I still recommend caution. We've never been here before." Shadow said, quietly. 

"That is what makes it an adventure, wouldn't you say?" Amy asked, standing with him. 

"Perhaps." Shadow simply shrugged, but in his mind, he doubted. 

"I'll go and find the entrance to the Museum." Tails said, and he left in the Cyclone. 

"They could want that as part of their collection." Shadow whispered, watching him leave. 

"What? Did you say something, Shadow?" Sonic asked, turning to face him.

Shadow froze and quickly decided what to say. "Oh, it's nothing." He said, with a slight grin. 

"Okay, then let's go find a parking place for the RV and move out." The blue hedgehog turned back to the RV and the others followed him, all except for Shadow. He stood still, looking toward the building. Amy saw this and so she went back for him, wondering what was the trouble. 

"Shadow, come with us. We need you." She said in truth, standing at his side. 

The black hedgehog was silent at first, looking toward the building. Then he turned back with her. "All right, I'm coming." He said, in his usual quiet voice. 

At first, it was difficult to park the RV because of its size, but our adventurers soon had success. After that was completed, Tails returned in the Cyclone with the news. He found the entrance and everything was clear. The team traveled inside together and they began their search. 

= = = = = 

Following the crew's tracks, Metal Sonic and Chaos entered the building, into the Museum. The robot stopped for a moment and hid behind a pillar. He hardly made a sound, to be stealthy. 

"Now remember, we have to--" Metal stopped, surprised to see Chaos, looking on the ground with a magnify-glass. "What do you think you're doing, Chaos?" Metal asked him. 

"Please, call me Sherlock Chaos, my dear Doctor Metal." He replied, standing up. 

"Fat chance!" Metal said, and then he slapped Chaos on the face. "Now, find them!" 

"With my trusty magnify-glass, I will." Chaos said, crawling away to find clues. 

"If I was a hedgehog, I would scream my lungs out right now." Metal whispered to himself. 

"Hey, Metal, I think I found something!" Chaos called from a hallway. 

"Good, I hope it's your brain. It has been missing for sometime." Metal said, waiting. 

While Chaos showed Metal his useless clue, Knuckles the Echidna stood silently and remained hidden behind a pillar with Tikal, and they saw the enemies. Knuckles turned and signaled to Tikal to back away, very carefully. They had to go and warn Sonic. Understanding, Tikal carefully backed away, quietly and Knuckles did the same. Everything went fine, but suddenly, Tikal accidentally knocked down a Museum's jar while walking backward. It fell to the floor, undamaged, but it made enough noise to get Metal's attention. The robot's eyes lit a bright red and he came toward the echidnas. With alert eyes, Knuckles saw the great danger. 

"Go, Tikal! Run, and don't look back! Find Sonic!" 

Knuckles pushed her to safety and Tikal ran as fast as she could. Knuckles saw the robot hedgehog appear and ready to attack. The red echidna jumped over a leaser beam and then he glided to a pillar, holding onto it for support, breathless. He gasped and jumped off when another dangerous laser nearly hit him. He lost his balance in the sudden jump, and with a tumble, he fell to the floor and against a pillar. Metal came toward the breathless echidna, trapping him. 

"Ah, shoot!" Knuckles groaned, trying to stand up. 

"Good idea." Metal nodded and then with a laser weapon, he fired at the echidna. 

Knuckles was hit and he flew across the room until he crashed into a wall, injured. He struggled to stand, gathering all his strength to fight back, but then he was shot again. His face met the floor with his eyes closed and he no longer fought to stand. He was down and out. 

"Now I shall terminate you!" Metal said as he aimed toward Knuckles to fire one last time. But when he fired, the laser hit the Emerald Sword of Scotty the crime fighter. "You American!"  

Scotty stood firm and silent, standing to shield Knuckles as Sonic came running toward the wounded echidna. The hedgehog held Knuckles in his arms while on his knees. 

"Knuckles!!" Sonic cried, "Oh, Knuckles, answer me! Say something, say anything!" There was no reply given and Sonic saw a bruise on his friend's cheek. "Knuckles…no…" He whispered.  

"This is very good!" Eggman said, entering the room with his battle ship. "I now finally have the hedgehog where I want him, and Metal, you did a fine job finishing the echidna. Now, terminate the American outside, while I finish my number one adversary!" He laughed.   

"With mechanical pleasure!" Metal said, and before Scotty could react, Metal kicked him out of the room. The American hedgehog flew out of the room with the force of the attack. 

"How dare you?!" Sonic yelled with anger, climbing to stand on his feet. 

Eggman laughed again. "This is my lucky day indeed! You, Hedgehog, are done for!" 

Then a familiar voice was heard behind him. "Eggman, you won't get away with this!" 

Before Eggman could turn his ship around, none other than the Cyclone attacked him. It was Tails to the rescue and Sonic felt his faith restored with his hope rebuilding inside. 

"Go, Tails!" Amy cheered for him. The two ships began battling each other. 

Just then, Shadow entered the room "What's with all the fireworks?" He asked. 

"Trouble is brewing like bad tea!" Sonic replied, and then he returned to Knuckles. 

"Oh, my!" Amy gasped, kneeling down. "Will he be okay?" She asked, quietly. 

Sonic held the echidna and felt him barely breathe against his chest. He closed his eyes, feeling awful and regretted in himself with thoughts of the past. "I never should've left him." He sadly whispered and only Shadow heard him. He quickly thought of encouraging words. 

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm sure he'll make it, but first, we have to stand for him." 

Sonic could not answer with any words, but then he was shocked to hear Knuckles speak. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but lasers will never hurt me." The echidna murmured. 

"Knuckles, you're alive! Yippee!" Amy cheered with joy and gladness. 

"Hey, Knuckles, how do you feel?" Sonic asked with a tear of happiness on his cheek. 

"Well, I feel a little sore and tired, but it's good to be alive." Knuckles answered, weakly. 

"That's so true." Shadow added and then he helped Sonic lift the echidna to stand. 

Then Eggman was heard outside the room. "I let my guard down!" He fell into failure. 

"Yeah, I won!" Tails was heard with a shout of victory. 

Then Sonic remembered the crime fighter. "But where's Scott?" Sonic asked when he saw everyone else there, but the green hedgehog was still missing. 

"I'm always around." Scotty replied from behind the crew, unharmed. 

"Scott, you amaze me." Sonic said after a quiet sigh of relief. 

"I know, Sonic." Scotty winked his eye and then Sonic grinned at him. 

Rouge and Tikal returned with the Emerald, which was lost, but now it was found and safe. It was an incredible journey, but it was not over yet. There was still one more lost Emerald. They had to find it before the enemy will use it for evil. That is all they can do with energy and technology. 

"Isn't that the truth, Narrator? But right now, we must find the last Emerald's signal. Tails!" 

"Yep, I got it, Sonic!" Tails answered from his victorious Cyclone. "The signal is coming from Washington DC, and we must hurry or it will be taken!" 

"All right then, DC, here we come!" Sonic ran to the RV with his crew close behind him. 

= = = = = 

After the RV had left the Museum, Metal Sonic was finally able to stand up after the powerful attacks the crime fighter had stricken him down with. "I hate green hedgehogs." He growled as he stood up and then Chaos came out of the building with his magnify-glass. 

"There you are, Metal. I thought I should tell you that the hedgehog is not in the Museum, because the only clue I could find inside was a bubble gum wrapper." He told him. 

"A bubble gum wrapper?" Metal asked, quietly but clearly very, very angry. 

Proudly, Chaos nodded his head and then Metal suddenly yelled, capturing him and he locked Chaos inside a clear glass jar. "Get out of THAT, if you can!" Metal dared him. 

In the meantime, our courageous and adventurous crew was well on their way.   


	29. Run free

**Chapter 29: Run free**

In the darkness of night,** the RV was parked at a rest stop on the side of the road, while our heroes slept peacefully inside. They had to be ready to enter Washington DC in the morning and that was where the last missing Emerald was located. It was early that morning when Sonic the Hedgehog opened his eyes to another day and he saw the sun rising when he peeked outside the window of the driver's side. He yawned, sleepily and rubbed his eyes awake and then he turned to see Shadow, asleep on the passenger chair with the little young baby deer Freeway curled up on his lap, dreaming. He looked behind himself to see the back. Tails was asleep on the sofa, which was folded out to make it into a bed, but Scotty was not there with him like he was last night. Sonic did not worry. He knew the crime fighter was on top of the RV again, watching the sunrise. The three girls were waking up in the back bedroom with the door closed so they could do their girl things and Knuckles was above the two front seats, resting in the bed bunk. Sonic turned back to look at the windshield, satisfied when he knew everyone was safe. He always counted them. **

Then he heard Shadow, talking in his sleep. "Maria…Maria…" He murmured, quietly. 

"Shadow?" Sonic whispered, "Did you say something to me? Are you awake?" 

"Yes, Maria, good idea. Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height…" Shadow whispered. 

The eyes of Sonic widened and he felt a drop of sweat on his forehead. "Whoa."  

"Huh? What?" Shadow whispered, waking up. "Ah, man. It was just a dream." He sighed. 

"It's a good thing. How about a cup of coffee? That'll fix your mind." Sonic suggested. 

"Is there something wrong with the one I have?" Shadow asked him after yawning. 

"Make that two cups. You'll need it." Sonic said, and they both enjoyed some hot coffee while Freeway had her morning bottle of warm goat milk for breakfast. 

After everyone had their breakfast that morning and ready to go, the RV began moving once again. Sonic drove onward to Washington DC and they made it there that afternoon. 

= = = = =

_Location: Washington DC…_

That afternoon, the RV with adventures on its wheels entered Washington DC. The sun was warm and the wind was gently blowing with the fresh smells of flowers, which somehow reached the crew when they came to the place. Sonic, as he drove on, began to wonder, where could an Emerald possibly be in a place such as Washington DC? He stopped the RV and then he turned to Tails who had his laptop computer on and the fox was typing on the keyboard. 

"Tails, anything on that signal yet?" Sonic asked him. 

"I'm getting interference around here. But I think we're getting close." Tails replied.  

"Oh no, we're lost!" Tikal said, concerned and looked outside the window.

"I'm not lost, so we're not lost." Sonic assured his friends. But the truth was, he did not know.  

"That's comforting." Shadow sighed, staring at the windshield.

"Maybe it's time to head out on foot." Knuckles said, sharing his thoughts. 

"Yeah, and show the world what a bat can do." Rouge smiled. 

"Well, Scott, what are your ideas?" Sonic asked the crime fighter. 

"I'm not sure, but I sense something uneasy." Scotty answered, unsure. 

"I think he's been watching too much Star Wars." Knuckles said, "Too much 'sense talk.'" 

Just then, Scotty stood alert. "A police portal car is approaching." He told them. 

"What? I don't see anything." Sonic said as he looked in the mirror, seeing nothing. 

"You will." Scotty assured and then Sonic looked in the mirror again. 

"The law!" Sonic said with surprise when he saw the police car, and Scotty nodded. 

"No, it's worse." Shadow said when he looked in the mirror. 

"Why do you say that?" Knuckles asked him, curiously. 

"It's a female cop." Shadow said with dread in his voice and Knuckles gasped. 

"Uh-oh." Sonic said, realizing it. "I don't think we're in a parking space…" He gasped when he heard the cop knock on the driver's side window, which was close beside him. Sonic was calm and he opened the window to see the green female hedgehog with a police uniform. 

Her name was Summer. "Hello," She greeted him and then she asked, "Do you have your driver's license, sir?" 

"Yes, I do." Sonic answered and he gave it to the police officer.  

Summer took a look at the driver's license and she saw the blue hedgehog's photo on the card. She looked up slightly at Sonic in the RV and he smiled the same way he did in the picture. "Do you always smile like this?" Summer asked him, holding the license. 

"Well, yeah. It's healthy." Sonic said, grinning in his special way. 

"Right." Summer said and rolled her eyes. Then she returned the driver's license back to Sonic. "Now what are you doing parked here where it is not allowed?" She asked. 

"We're trying to find out where we are." Sonic replied, calmly. 

"Oh, are you lost? You must be tourist, am I right?" Summer asked. 

"Yes to both. We've never been here before and have no idea where to go." 

"Well, then you should go see the Washington Monument. It's not far from here." Summer told him. "If you follow my portal car, I'll lead you guys there, okay?" She asked. 

"Sounds great, but aren't you going to give me a ticket?" Sonic asked the officer. 

"No." Summer shook her head. "There's no harm done. You are safely out of traffic's way and because you're lost tourist, I'll help you get to a good starting point to see the place." 

"That would be wonderful. Thanks, officer." Sonic said, very grateful. 

"Officer Summer, if you please. Now, stay safe and follow me." She turned and entered her car and led the way. Sonic followed the police car, driving the RV. 

"I don't know how you slipped out of that one." Shadow said with relief. 

"Hey, you just have to be honest and smile." Sonic told him, driving onward.

The Washington Monument stood in the form of an Egyptian obelisk and it rises more than 550 feet above the city, and is the largest masonry structure in the world. Tails was looking outside the window as the RV drove on when his laptop computer suddenly caught attention. He had finally found the signal for the missing Emerald and it was close. He found its location. 

"Hey, Sonic! I found the Emerald's signal and we're very close now." Tails reported to him.   

"Cool." Sonic said, still driving the RV. "Where is it then?" He asked. 

"Believe it or not, it's way up high on top of the Washington Monument." Tails answered. 

"How in the world did it get all the way up there?" Shadow asked, surprised. 

"I don't know, but that's where it is and where we must go." Tails said. 

"We've got a lot of climbing ahead of us." Knuckles sighed quietly.

= = = = = 

Meanwhile, some others also arrived in Washington DC, but they were not lost or tourist. It was Metal Sonic and Chaos with Dr. Eggman in the lead. They not only found the Emerald's signal, but they knew where it was also. Villains have their own sly ways to do such things. 

"This is a most unusual place for the Emerald, but we have no choice." Eggman said from his battle ship. "It is the last so we have only one try. Don't fool around, you two." 

"We shall reach success, boss. Keep your shirt on. We'll find it." Metal assured him. 

"Well, if that's success, then it's higher than I thought." Chaos said when he saw it. 

"That's because your brain is so low, if you even have one in there." Metal said.

Chaos thought and then he knocked himself on the head twice. "I felt something hard in there." He said and pointed to his head and then Metal shrugged, turning away from him. 

"It's probably just a rock." Metal said as he watched Eggman leave. The robot went the way he was commanded and Chaos followed who was still knocking on his head, hoping to find a brain. 

= = = = = 

"Take a look at that!" Sonic pointed up toward the Washington Monument. He parked the RV in a safe place and he stood outside with his crew. The helpful police officer led them there. 

"It's tall, taller than I dreamed it would be." Knuckles said with his eyes gazing. 

"Well, yeah." Amy said, "It was built that way and it's not gonna sink." 

"This should be a breeze." Rouge said without fear. 

"We still should be very careful." Tikal reminded her. "Remember what happened before." 

"Of course." Tails added, "One can never be too careful, right?" 

"Right." Shadow agreed, nodding his head. 

"Danger or not, that's MY Emerald and I'm gonna get it." Knuckles nodded. 

"Oh no, you don't! That's my Emerald, my jewel, so see you at the finish line!" Rouge teased him and she ran toward the great and tall Washington Monument, surprising the team. 

"Hey, no fair!" Knuckles shouted and he ran after her with Tikal following. 

"I didn't even say they could go yet." Sonic said, crossing his arms. 

"Treasure hunters have a mind of their own, I guess." Shadow shrugged. 

Just then, they heard Chaos behind them. "Oh, boy! That means I have a mind!" 

"Chaos!" Sonic gasped when he turned around to face him and Metal. 

"We meet again, you miserable rodent!" Metal said, pointing to Sonic. 

"Much to my dislike, tin-can!" Sonic snapped, angrily.  

"You have come to the end of your road, hedgehog. It's all over for you so face your end here and now. While Chaos steals the Emerald, I'll tare you apart!" Metal moved to attack. 

"No way! I'll fight!" Sonic yelled, jumping toward Metal and they knocked each other down backward to the ground. Sonic quickly stood up and attacked again, fighting Metal. Shadow and Scotty moved in to help him, but the robot was very powerful. 

"Oh, Tails! What can be done? It's hopeless!" Amy cried with fear. 

"There's always hope, Amy." Tails said and he closed his eyes, thinking fast. Suddenly, he opened them with an idea. "I think I got it! Follow me!" Tails called and Amy followed him. They hopped into the Cyclone and they left before Eggman arrived in his ship. 

"Oh, what a great victory I have in the palm of my hand! This is it, today is the day I defeat the pesky hedgehog who claims to be the fastest on two feet!" Eggman chuckled as he watched the hedgehog team battle against Metal Sonic. He ate another large handful of microwave popcorn. 

= = = = = 

_Meanwhile…_

High up on the Washington Monument the team of three treasure hunters climbed higher and higher, reaching for the top where the lost Emerald was. But as Knuckles thought, they ran into some trouble when Chaos showed up, climbing the Washington Monument's wall. 

"Rouge, we've got a problem climbing after us!" Knuckles warned her. 

"Then a problem calls for a problem solver, don't you think?" Rouge asked. 

"Look out!" Tikal screamed as Chaos struck the wall, causing it to shake slightly.  

"Hold on!" Knuckles yelled, gripping the wall tight as it shook with the attack. 

Chaos laughed for his victory, but it was short when Knuckles attacked back, striking the wall where the enemy was while he avoided harming his friends. 

"Get down!" He yelled and struck the wall so Chaos slipped, but then he gripped on again. "That should hold him! You two keep going and I'll keep him back!" Knuckles said. 

"Be careful!" Tikal called before she began climbing with Rouge again. 

Knuckles held on tighter to the Washington Monument's wall, closing his eyes when a burst of strong wind blew against his face. He felt it become stronger as he reached to go higher. It became harder and harder to climb, and then suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. 

"Hi! I'm Omochao, and I'm here to help!" He said and flew passed Knuckles with the wind. 

"What?!" Knuckles gasped with shock. "How did you get here?! You were all the way back in that Texas cave!" He gasped again as he nearly slipped with a weak grip. He held on again. 

"The winds are very strong here! Be careful!" Omochao warned him, flying by again. 

"I know that!" Knuckles yelled with frustration and then he began climbing again. 

"Find the missing Chaos Emerald hidden somewhere around here." Omochao spoke again as he flew around the Washington Monument, passing the red echidna. 

Knuckles shook his head and then suddenly without warning, Chaos struck the wall again and Knuckles spun around in his head with dizziness. "Rats!" He groaned and tried to fight it. 

"Knuckles, keep climbing! We're almost there!" Tikal encouraged him. 

Then Rouge finally reached the top, and she said, "I never fail in my missions!" She stopped and looked down to see Tikal and Knuckles following. "Come on, treasure hunter, climb!" Rouge called for Knuckles after she helped pull Tikal up to the top with her. "Knuckles!" They called. 

Knuckles climbed and fought the strong wind and he knew that Chaos was close behind him. His eyes were shut tight as he reached for the top and thankfully; his friends helped him up. 

"We made it!" Tikal cheered when they all three were at the top together with teamwork. 

"Yeah!" Knuckles breathed and he did not look down. 

"I told you it would be a breeze, now let's get the Emerald!" Rouge said with a smile. 

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Knuckles said, and he stretched out his hand and reached the prized jewel at last. "Finally!" He sighed with relief. 

"No! It's mine!" Chaos said and he suddenly appeared in front of the team. 

"You!" Knuckles growled, pointing to him. "You haven't given up yet?" 

"Nope, the Emerald is mine and you are out of order!" Chaos chuckled and then he suddenly hit the Monument and caused it to shake. Knuckles, Rouge and Tikal gasped and held on for dear life, or else, they would fall down far, far, far below to their death, no doubt about it.  

Tikal screamed as she suddenly and dreadfully lost her grip on the wall and she fell off. Knuckles turned when he heard her scream and he yelled her name as he dropped the Emerald. He let it go and he fell down after her, gliding to save her. Meanwhile, Rouge tightened her grip with her eyes closed and when she opened them, she saw that Knuckles and Tikal were gone. She blinked with confusion and then she saw the Emerald. She stood up and held it, but then Chaos tried to take it away. Having no choice, Rouge leaped into the air and began gliding high and off the Washington Monument, shocking Chaos. In the meantime, Knuckles caught Tikal who fainted. The red echidna continued falling down until he was near the end, and then like a leaf, he carefully landed on his feet with Tikal in his arms. He looked up, hoping to see Rouge safe. But she was nowhere in sight. He looked and looked, but he could not see her. 

"What are you looking at, treasure hunter?" A voice asked behind him. 

Knuckles turned around and saw Rouge with the Emerald. She was safe and unharmed. Knuckles could not quite understand how or why he felt such great relief. "I'm…I'm looking at…at something…" He stopped and swallowed hard. 

"Yes?" Rouge asked, seeking to know what he was going to say. 

But then, Tikal woke up. "Oh, my. What happened?" She asked, weakly. 

"We took a sky dive all the way down here." Knuckles answered and winked his eye. 

"Yes, and we won what was lost." Rouge held the Emerald in her hand. 

"Thanks, I'll take it!" Chaos laughed and snatched it away as he ran passed the bat. 

"Oh no!" Rouge gasped and was surprised at the sudden move of the villain. 

"So long, bat-girl, until we meet—Again?!" He gasped when Sonic the Hedgehog blocked his path of escape. Those green eyes burned right through him. 

"How about NOW?" Sonic asked and then he gave Chaos a kick, knocking him down and the Emerald fell into the hedgehog's waiting hand, quite amazing. 

"Hold your breath, hedgehog!" Eggman said, aiming his laser weapon toward him. 

"Should I say cheese or just leave?" Sonic asked and before Eggman could reply, the blue hedgehog became a brilliant gold after a bright light. He stood in the midst of the war, shining. 

"Super Sonic?!" Eggman gasped with horror. "Oh no! Not here, not now! It can't be!" 

"Hey, why not?" Super Sonic asked, lifting an eyebrow. 

"This was not in the plan! I must think quickly, very fast…" Metal said when he saw Super Sonic and Super Shadow standing together. "Doctor, request permission to take action." 

"Get them, now!" Eggman commanded, and then the robot and Chaos moved toward the hedgehogs, to attack ruthlessly and without any mercy. 

"Sonic, Shadow, quick, in here!" Tails called from Eggman's Warp Saucer. 

Super Sonic and Super Shadow shrugged, not quite understanding what their friend had in mind, but they felt it was something great, so they entered the ship and it vanished from sight.

"We must take our Warp Saucer!" Chaos said, pointing to it. Metal Sonic entered the ship with Chaos and then the ship spun around in circles, vanishing. 

"Where did they go?" Knuckles asked with wide opened eyes. 

"One thing is for sure, they're not here anymore." Scotty answered, standing next to him. 

"Tails said something about making a few adjustments on Metal's ship." Amy told them. 

"Oh, I like the way that fox thinks!" Knuckles grinned. 

= = = = = 

At this very moment our crew was traveling like no one had before. Tails did his best to control the Warp Saucer, but it was more difficult that he thought. After fighting his confusion, he landed the ship and it appeared in a room. The Warp Saucer finally stopped.  

"I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."  Sonic gulped. 

"Why is that?" Shadow asked and to answer, Tails pointed with his mouth dropped open. 

Shadow shrugged and looked. He gasped when he saw that they had landed in the White House and the President was most surprised to see them appear in front of his desk. 

"How did you strange…people…get inside the White House?" He asked, finally. 

"Would you believe a miracle, sir?" The blue hedgehog asked him. 

"At this rate, I'll believe anything." The President said, after swallowing. 

"What you see is what you get, I'm just a guy who loves adventure. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" He replied and then Shadow poked him in the side. 

"Hey, that's what you told me!" He reminded him. 

"I'm afraid I'm a little confused…" The President began, still very astonished. 

"Don't worry, Mr. President." Tails said to him, "Everything will be okay." 

"Yeah, don't sweat it. Everything is under control, sir." Sonic added with a grin. 

"We should get back and find the RV." Shadow hinted to leave. 

"Understood, Shadow. Okay, Tails, let her warp. Let's go!" Sonic said and after a flash of bright light, the Warp Saucer vanished. 

"Sonic and Shadow? Tails, RV and…and this…?" The President tried to make sense of it. 

= = = = = 

At the same time, Metal Sonic and Chaos made a landing in their Warp Saucer, but in a much further place. It was a strange sight indeed to see a Warp Saucer ship appear in front of the Queen of England's royal throne. Metal and Chaos froze with confusion. 

"Where in the universe are we this time?" Metal asked. 

"I don't know, but last time, we were on the moon." Chaos replied and then he saw the royal Queen. "Oh, the Queeny!" He said and bowed his head, which Metal slapped. 

"We're going back to find that hedgehog!" Metal commanded and then the ship disappeared. 

For a moment, the Queen stared with disbelief and amazement, and then she laughed. 

= = = = = 

The Warp Saucer, which carried our crew appeared in Washington DC, returning them back to the RV and the team who waited for them to come back. They knew all along that they would return. Sonic, Shadow and Tails climbed out of the ship and made it back safely to their crew and the RV. While Eggman retreated, Metal and Chaos continued searching in vain for Sonic. The team had a road to travel down and a journey to complete. 

"Welcome back!" Knuckles greeted when they safely returned to the RV. 

"Thanks." Sonic said, stopping beside the red echidna. "Right now, I think it's time to leave this place, now that we completed our mission, all is well." 

"Yeah, after all that, I'm ready to take a vacation from this vacation." Shadow sighed. 

"Then let's go before it gets dark." Sonic said as he gathered Freeway in his arms, leaving. His friends followed him and they returned to the RV. Having great victory in their hands, the team moved on. The night came after they left Washington DC. The long journey home had begun. 


	30. Homeland

**Chapter 30: Homeland **

And so it was that after a great adventure on wheels, our team moved on in the RV, homeward. Sonic the Hedgehog drove through the night and they soon reached New York City. It was a beautiful night with a star speckled sky, bright city lights and a calm windy breeze in the air. The RV came to a stop in that place and they stepped outside. Scotty felt his heart lifted when he saw the skyscrapers of his homeland. He turned to his friends with his bright blue eyes shining. 

"Thank you all so much." He said, smiling and grateful in his heart. 

"No problem, Scott." Sonic said, standing in front of him. "I hope you enjoyed the ride." 

"Oh, it was a total blast!" Scotty said with excitement still remaining in his voice.  

"We'll miss you, Mister Scott." Tails said as he stood beside Sonic. 

"There's no need," Scotty said, "I live nearby, but here in this place, this is where I belong. It's the place I call home." Scotty stretched out his hand toward the great City. 

"I understand." Sonic said, nodding. He quietly sighed and Scotty sensed doubt in his friend's heart about the journey home. "Well, see you later, Scott." Sonic turned to leave, but then Scotty gripped his hand, gently and Sonic turned to face the crime fighter in the eyes. 

"I know the road is long," Scotty whispered to him, "But where your home stands is your heart. Wherever you stay, you'll find the way. Run like the river, follow the sun, fly like an eagle to where you belong." He gripped his hand tighter and then Sonic felt good courage. 

Speechless for a moment, Sonic nodded his head with understanding. "Thanks, Scott." 

"You're welcome." Scotty said, winking his eye. "Now take them home where it's safe." 

After they all said goodbye, the Sonic crew entered the RV and departed. As Sonic drove on and left the City, he felt that he was being watched and he was. Scotty stood silently on a skyscraper and watched them leave. He proudly saluted them before the RV disappeared into the night. 

= = = = = 

_Later…_

The RV soon arrived at the girls' place, their apartment building where they lived close to each other. While Tails stayed inside the RV with Freeway, Knuckles helped Rouge with her things to the door, Shadow helped Tikal, and Sonic, as he promised Tails before, he helped Amy with her suitcase to her door. It was no easy task for a hero like him, but he always kept his word. 

"Whew! There you go, one heavy suitcase." Sonic breathed, standing in front of Amy's door. 

"Oh, thank you, Sonic sweetie!" Amy chuckled cutely with a smile. 

"I am not a sweetie." Sonic murmured, blushing red in his cheeks. 

"I really had a great time with you in the RV, Sonic." Amy told him, happily. 

"Yeah, well…" Sonic cleared his throat, lost for words. "It was okay." He finally finished.

"It was wonderful." Amy shyly added, "I hope it will happen again." She smiled. 

"Hey, with a hero hedgehog like me around, expect the unexpected." Sonic grinned. He swallowed hard when he saw Amy run her fingers through her banged hair, straitening it. "Well, goodnight and sleep tight, Amy." Then Sonic turned around to leave. 

"Wait, Sonic!" Amy called and Sonic even surprised himself when he turned back. 

"What do you want?" Sonic asked her with his arms crossed and his foot tapping. 

"Aren't you gonna kiss me goodnight?" Amy asked him, sweetly. 

"I…" Sonic could only say that and then he gulped, trembling in his legs until he fell down backward to the ground. Blushing, he quickly stood up and ran. "Sayonara! I'm gone!" 

Amy shrugged as she watched the blue blur vanish. But she smiled as she closed her door. Meanwhile, we find Knuckles reaching Rouge's door and he brought the four suitcases to her, two at a time. He somehow did not mind. He even set them in front of the door before Rouge reached it with her key. She was surprised that he brought them over so quickly. 

"Hey, what took you so fast?" She teased, smiling at the echidna. 

"It's a secret." Knuckles teased her back, grinning. He brushed the dust off his arms. 

"Well, thank you for carrying them over here." Rouge said and then she opened her door slightly. She turned back to the echidna. "It was a good time to be traveling with you." She said. 

"I'll say. I like the new challenges and the treasure hunting." Knuckles added. 

"There's always tomorrow." Rouge whispered and before Knuckles could understand what she meant, his eyes closed as he accepted her goodnight kiss. "Goodnight, treasure hunter." Rouge whispered and then she closed her door, leaving one shocked echidna outside. 

"Wha…" His mouth dropped open, surprised and he turned back to the RV, weak in his legs. 

And then, Tikal found her door upstairs and Shadow quietly let the suitcase down. Now Shadow was no fool. He knew there was a time to retreat and that time was right then. 

"Goodnight, goodbye." He said and turned back, leaving the female echidna.  

Tikal smiled, knowing he was just shy. "Goodnight." She said, quietly and closed her door. The RV drove again, moving on to the next stop, which was at Shadow's place. 

= = = = = 

Soon the RV came to the next stop and Shadow stepped outside with his suitcase, feeling great to be home again, a relief and thankfulness to be back safely. The others came out with him. It was still dark outside with beautiful bright stars above them. They said goodnight and farewell.

"It's been great, Shadow. But you better get some rest in a real bed." Sonic grinned. 

"Goodnight, Shadow." Tails said, and he waved his hand with a smile. 

"Bye." Shadow said quietly, and then he turned, leaving. 

"See you again soon." Knuckles said, and then he asked, "You need any help with that?" 

"No." Shadow answered, simply and then he continued his way toward the door. 

Sonic silently turned back to the RV and the others followed him, leaving Shadow at his home. The blue hedgehog turned to look at his friend once more before turning the key, and that is when he saw Shadow having a little trouble with the suitcase. It was heavy for him. 

"Poor old guy." Sonic whispered, after a sigh and then he stepped out again. "Shadow, wait!" Sonic called and he ran to him, standing near the door now. Shadow stopped, waiting. 

"Why did you bother to come back?" Shadow asked him, quietly. 

"I want to help you with that. Please let me." Sonic pointed to the suitcase. 

"No, I can handle it myself, as always." Shadow told him. 

"Not always. I can tell you're tired, Shadow. So, just let me help, okay?" Sonic asked. 

"Fine." Shadow sighed; giving up and he hid a smile. "Just grab the other end." He said. 

"Great, let's go." Sonic smiled and he gripped the other handle, carrying it. It was not very heavy, but Sonic thought for a moment what it would be like to be older. They made it to the door with no trouble and the hedgehogs let the suitcase down. "There you go." Sonic said. 

"Thanks." Shadow was quiet in his voice. They stood without words for a moment. 

"You're not angry, are you?" Sonic asked, breaking the silence. 

"No. Why do you asked?" Shadow wondered. 

"You're so quiet, more than usual I mean. Is something wrong?" Sonic asked him. 

"No, it's just…" He sighed and looked at the RV once more. "I guess I'll miss it." 

"What? But you won't miss me?" Sonic asked, joking and let out a laugh. 

Shadow just lifted an eyebrow, giving him a confused look. Even though that speedy blue hedgehog was a pest at times, Shadow knew he would miss him. He finally spoke. "It was quite a ride, one that will not be forgotten. Right now, I need my ultimate sleep." 

"Understood, pal." Sonic nodded his head. They shook hands. "Goodnight, Shadow."  

"Night." Shadow whispered, and then he closed the door, quietly. Sonic returned to the RV and drove on. Shadow watched them from a window. He opened his mouth slightly as if he was going to say something, but then he decided to think of it instead. So he did and kept it to himself. He truly did enjoy the journey, to be on the road with them in that RV… and the coffee was good. 

Later, the RV reached the home of Knuckles and Sonic stopped for the red echidna. Sonic hopped outside from the driver's side door and came to his friend's side with Tails standing by. 

"This is it, Knuckles. You're home." Sonic said, smiling. 

"Sweet home." Knuckles sighed, looking toward it and then he faced the green eyes. "Thanks for the ride, blue blur." He said, "I've seen a lot of strange things, so many that it would be impossible to write about it!" He and his two friends laughed. They could hardly even think of it. 

"Can you imagine, our adventure on wheels in that RV in print, in words? Ha!" Sonic laughed. 

If they only knew… But anyway, they shook hands and said goodnight before leaving. Sonic and Tails helped Knuckles to the door, and then they departed, driving away in the RV. Sonic drove quietly and he noticed how empty and quiet the RV was now that only Tails and Freeway remained inside with him. He sighed heavily and Tails heard him. He did not ask why he sighed, because he knew already. But then Sonic smiled when he saw his home. It was sweet indeed. 

"We're home, Sonic. I can see it from here." Tails pointed while sitting in the passenger seat. 

"Yeah, finally." Sonic said, and he soon came to a stop, parking the RV. It seemed strange at first to be home again, but he pushed that feeling aside. He was glad to be there, at home again. 

Tails carried the sleeping baby deer Freeway in a blanket and he watched as Sonic stood in front of the garage, looking at the faithful RV. "Will she ever see the road again?" Tails whispered. 

Sonic was silent for a moment, and then he answered. "Tails, you never can tell. Someday, we may just find ourselves on the road again. This RV has adventures in its wheels." Then the garage door closed, leaving the RV to rest in the darkness of silence. 

It was very late when Sonic and Tails returned home, so they both went to bed right after brushing their teeth. Freeway slept in a basket near them in the quiet bedroom. Sonic quietly removed his shoes and then he watched as Tails covered Freeway with a blanket. 

"She'll be real surprised to find herself in a house tomorrow, instead of an RV." Tails said. 

"Yeah, but for now, let's go to sleep." Sonic whispered, and then he yawned. 

Tails climbed into his bed, sleepily. "Goodnight, Sonic, and thanks." He smiled. 

"Goodnight, little buddy. See you in the morning." Sonic whispered, and then he turned off the lamp, allowing the bedroom to become dark and silent. He soon fell asleep, but even in his dreams, he was out there somewhere, having an adventure with his friends. 

And that is how it came to pass that Sonic the Hedgehog and his crew had returned safely home, and they came to the end of their incredible journey. Sonic felt a change after the road trip, and it was good. It was a great memory to treasure and a journey to remember. And that is our story. 

Sayonara, my adventurous readers. 

= = = = =   

End credits… 

**"I will always return." (Finale) **

[Song by Bryan Adams from soundtrack CD _Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]_

I hear the wind call my name

The sound that leads me home again 

It sparks up the fire, a flame that still burns 

To you I will always return 

I know the road is long but where you are is home 

Wherever you stay, I'll find the way 

I'll run like the river, I'll follow the sun 

I fly like an eagle to where I belong 

I can't stand the distance, I can't dream alone

I can't wait to see you. Yes, I'm on my way home

And now I know it's true, my every road leads to you

And in the hour of darkness, your light gets me through 

You run like the river, you shine like the sun 

You fly like an eagle. Yeah, you are the one

I've seen every sunset, and with all that I've learned

Oh, it's to you, I will always return 

= = = = = 

Cast of star characters… 

Sonic the Hedgehog --- SEGA

Shadow the Hedgehog --- SEGA 

Miles Tails Prower --- SEGA 

Knuckles the Echidna --- SEGA

Amy Rose --- SEGA

Rouge the Bat --- SEGA

Tikal the echidna --- SEGA

Omochao --- SEGA 

Dr. Eggman Robotnik --- SEGA

Metal Sonic --- SEGA

Chaos Zero --- SEGA  

Special guest stars… 

Mario and Luigi _"Super Mario Brothers" --- Nintendo _

Freeway the Deer --- C. E. Rodriguez [author] 

Spider Man --- Marvel Comics 

Ecco the Dolphin --- SEGA 

Scotty the Crime Fighter --- C. E. Rodriguez [author] 

Elk [myself, the author] 

Summer the Hedgehog --- C. E. Nett

_Special thanks to… _

My sisters: Monique, Bijou, Colette and Beau. My brothers: Lorran and Einnar. My parents. 

And I thank all my readers, adventurous to read and travel along in my written work.  

_A new day brings a new adventure… but for now… Rest easy, heroes. _


End file.
